Sephiroth's Other Half
by Happy Wolf
Summary: A woman that is part of the Jenova Project has reappeared and Sephiroth seems desperate to possess her body as his own. Will Cloud and his friends be able to save her or will she sacrifice her life like Aeris? Please R&R.
1. Who is She?

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of FF7 or the characters. I only own Larissa and the town she came from and other things will show up on later chapters that I have made up. This is my first story too and I hope you like it. Please Review when you have the time, any help is always good. **

The past five years have been full of chaos and unfinished business with the mad scientist Hojo and his creation Sephiroth, who had a score to settle with Cloud. Now the vast city Midgar is back on its feet with children playing in harmony and adults doing their fair share of work to rebuild the city to greatness again. One of the booming businesses around Midgar is Tifa's bar, 7th Heaven, which is also a delivery service. And let's not forget Yuffie's new material shop just a few blocks away from Tifa's bar.

As for the new trend around the city, all the girls seem to be swooning over Cloud and Vincent, Tifa's delivery men. Tifa hates it when all the girls swarm around Cloud whenever he comes back from a delivery, yet she ignores them and tries to busy her mind with other matters of importance, such as taking care of Marlene and Denzel.

Barrett, on the other hand, does help out with the deliveries when the load is too much for Cloud and Vincent to handle by themselves. All the rest of his time is spent with his daughter Marlene and making sure he does not miss out on her childhood anymore.

Cid, our star pilot is back in Rocket Town trying to establish a flying school full of new exotic people. He would have gone with the space program, but there is no one to sponsor him, at least none that he could think of. It seems to be going really well and new planes are being made as we speak.

Red XIII or also known as Nanaki is back in Cosmo Canyon watching over things while his grandfather is with the Planet.

Luckily, Cait Sith and Reeve are planning things of their own with President Rufus to rebuild Midgar, the Turks Reno and Rude are also running errands to help out as well.

The new person added to the team is Shelke, a young girl who knows more about computers and technology than any other member of the group except for Cid who is still the king of machinery. Back at 7th Heaven Shelke walks swiftly up to Tifa with an excited gleam glowing in her eyes.

"When is Red coming to town? I can not wait to see him."

"He should be here any time now. I wish he would carry a phone or some kind of device with him, but he refuses. I guess technology is really not his style," responds Tifa as she cleans off the countertops for the next customers.

Sulking slightly Shelke makes her way to the window seat to watch for Nanaki's entrance. Stumbling into the bar is Barrett with Marlene on his shoulders laughing and playing all the while.

"Where is Denzel? I thought he was with you today Barrett."

"He was, but he decided to hang out in the church to wait for Cloud. I tell you he has attached himself to Cloud like glue."

Laughing even louder and harder Barrett takes a seat in the corner and settles Marlene right beside him with a playful smile; Tifa has never seen Barrett so happy in many years and is glad Marlene has cheered him up. Suddenly giddy girls appeared at the front door of the bar waiting impatiently.

"Can I help you girls with something?" Startled by Tifa's approach one of the girls shakily replies, "We are waiting for Cloud to arrive. He's just finished with one of his errands from Kalm Town."

That was all the girl could say because Cloud began to come into view from the far horizon. A light scream could be heard from the group of teens as Tifa goes back inside to busy her mind with cleaning the dishes.

Riding up to the bar, Cloud jumps off the motorcycle and is greeted by all these young teenage girls who he wishes they would disappear. Surrounded, Cloud accepts their gifts and makes his way to Tifa to give her the money he received not too long ago from the customer in Kalm Town.

As he leaves the girls behind they all give a great big sigh of longing and depart to hang out somewhere else, gossiping about Cloud and other girly fantasies along the way.

"Here you are Tifa, $250. I am going to take a break if that is okay with you. Do you have water in the fridge?"

"Of course I do Cloud and that is fine with me if you want to take a break. I know I have been running you none stop all morning."

Tifa rushes to the dull white fridge and hands Cloud a fresh cold bottle of water. Taking it gratefully Cloud drains the bottle in about five gulps or less, surprising Tifa that he had such a thirst.

On the outskirts of Midgar dust is flying as Nanaki pounds the red earth to visit his friends he has not seen in quite some time. Focusing the city into view Nanaki suddenly spots someone lying face up in the sand, looking almost close to death itself.

Taking a detour to the right Nanaki slows down to see if the person is conscious and if so, then he will carry this person back to Midgar with him. Closing in he realizes that this person is a woman and a beautiful one at that.

With long flowing dark brown hair and white streaks in it Nanaki did not know if it was safe to touch her. Moaning could be heard from her dried lips and the shaking of her limbs made Nanaki change his mind to take her to the clinic they had in Midgar.

He was about to take this mysterious woman to Tifa's bar, but thought better of it. If an explosive reaction were to happen to the woman's body at least Tifa and the others will be safe from it.

Cautiously creeping up to the woman he stops in front of her cracked lips and hears her say, "I need a sharp knife. I have to stop this parasite from taking over my body. This madness…this pain…I can not take it any longer…"

Nanaki tries to listen harder to the woman's words, but she fades in and out of consciousness as she continues to moan for a knife. Not wasting anymore time Nanaki gently lifts the stranger onto his back and quickly, but gracefully races toward Midgar's clinic in the middle of the gigantic city.

Speaking of people coming to Midgar to visit old friends, Cid decides to stop by 7th Heaven to see the gang and their new life styles.

"Hey everyone, I bet you all missed me a great deal. How the hell are you all? I just made a new airship and I want the whole gang to see it before I go back to Rocket Town."

Everyone in the bar said "Hey Cid" in unison as Cid walked up to take a seat next to Barrett across from Cloud and Denzel. It seems Cloud had to go back to the church to retrieve him since Denzel did not have his cell phone on.

Marlene and the other children as well as Denzel all have cell phones to keep track of each other; it is a wonderful thing for Cloud and Tifa too. Now they do not have to keep asking all the other children where they are all the time.

Following short behind Cid is Yuffie from her materia shop; it seems she wanted to see what the fuss was all about.

"Cid you are finally here! I am so glad to see you; did you bring anything back from Rocket Town for me, maybe some materia?"

"No Yuffie I did not do that this time, but I did make a new airship for everyone to tour later on."

A small pout came upon Yuffie's lips at the mention of the word airship from Cid, yet she ran towards him and gave him a huge bear hug anyway. The next person who came in was Vincent.

It seems his errands for Tifa are over and he decides to take a seat in a high table by the booth full of Barrett and the rest of the gang. Before settling completely Vincent quietly puts $400 in Tifa's hands and looks at everyone else with a content look upon his face, apparently happy with the amount of money he brought home for the business.

"Hey have any of you seen Red? I thought he would have beaten me here by now. I really want to see if he got any new tattoos or earrings," says Cid drinking a frozen root beer in his smooth hands.

"That is what I would like to know too." Stepping into the light Reeve appears with Cait Sith in his arms as usual.

"Hi Reeve," Yuffie says cheerfully. "I do not know where Red is. I tried calling him earlier, but all I got was his voice mail. I hope he is all right, why not sit with us and wait for him? I am sure he would like a big crowd to greet him once he arrives."

A kind smile sweeps over Reeve as he makes his way to sit next to Vincent in the dark corner while Cait Sith takes a seat next to Marlene and Denzel in the booth. Waiting is about all the group could do while Nanaki struggles to bring this abnormal woman to the clinic.

Just barely making it through the entrance of Midgar Nanaki briefly scans his surroundings to see where he needs to go in order to find the clinic quickly. It seems the woman has become fully conscious, for she rolls of Nanaki's back and starts to crawl towards Tifa's bar.

"Wait dear woman, I know where to take you. Please let me take you to the clinic for treatment of your rare disease!"

Nanaki's shouts were inaudible to the woman's determination to find a knife or some other sharp utensil to help her feel herself again. Nanaki stared in fascination at the woman's healthy dark brown hair turn into long flowing waves of silvery white.

Her eyes began to change into the familiar turquoise color of mako energy instead of remaining the golden light brown color they once were. Shaking violently from the transformation, she manages to open the door to enter into Tifa's bar unannounced.

"Did you hear the door open just now Tifa? I think you might have a customer. You better get to the counter before you loose them," teases Barrett as Tifa reluctantly rises to tend to the unexpected customer.

Running in after the stranger Nanaki yells to Tifa, "What ever you do Tifa do what this woman asks of you. If she asks for a sharp knife and some other materials you give them to her without hesitation!"

Staring blankly at Nanaki Tifa looks to her right and stares into the mako eyes she thought she left behind long ago. Holding back a scream Tifa tries to keep her composer as she scans the extraordinary woman to be another clone of Sephiroth's.

Eyeing the butcher knife the woman whispers menacingly, "Give me that knife, I need it right now. A bottle would be nice too, hurry!"

Frozen to the spot Tifa does not do anything but stare deep into the urgent eyes of the traveler. "Tifa what are you doing?! Give her the knife now!"

It seems Nanaki's command melted Tifa's fright away as she started to dig for a bottle while handing over the butcher knife to the foreigner suffering at the counter. While this event was taking place all the others stared in mixed emotions of curiosity and fright at the traveler who just stepped into the bar, looking for relief from the pain inside her.

"I will not let you take my body," she whispers. "You can take my town, but my body and spirit are my own."

Swiftly taking the knife into her hands she charges it through her right arm, pouring blood all over the floor in the process. Finally a cry of relief is heard from her as she digs out a purple looking cell with the butcher knife about ten minutes after the incident. Placing the cell and a large amount of blood into the crystal jar, she screws the lid back on top of it and begins to change back to normal.

Her long shining hair turns from silvery white to a dark brown with her eyes changing back to their original light brown of gold. Her body also changes from veins poking out to settling back into a relaxed state of the body with color returning to her beautiful elegant face.

Because of the sudden drastic change her body could not handle it; she faints instantly and lands on the floor in her own pool of blood. Rushing forward Nanaki pulls the woman out of the blood and drags her toward the stairs to a spare bedroom above the bar.

Lifting her onto his back once more Nanaki slowly makes his way upstairs to let the woman rest and to call a doctor to examine her body for any other problems. As for the rest of the group they are completely speechless about the scene they just witnessed with the children hiding behind Barrett and Cid.

"Ok what the hell was that?! I have never seen such a bizarre thing for some time and I was hoping that I would not have to see it this soon," comments Cid.

Walking back down the stairs is Nanaki with a concerned look about him. "Shelke just the person I wanted to see. Will you gather all of your equipment and do an autopsy on this woman? I want to know if any more of those cells are traveling through her body and if so we need to remove them immediately."

Reacting quickly to Nanaki's request Shelke dashes off to gather everything she needs for the operation. "Ok Red just where did you find a girl like that?! I did not think someone like that would be your type." Barrett and Cid both laugh for a brief time to let some of the tension loose, but gain their composer back instantly by Nanaki's cold stare.

"I found her on the outskirts of Midgar on my way in. I just could not leave her out there to die and I am not sure about any of her background at the moment. But I am worried that that cell might be one of Jenova's. We might have to destroy her to avoid bigger problems and now would be a great opportunity. She's weak and vulnerable to anything we throw at her even though it does sound cruel to do such a dirty job. Any volunteers?"

The group gazed at Nanaki with a horrified countenance except Vincent who remained emotionless throughout the whole event. Just before anyone could make a decision Shelke returns with all her machinery ready to set to work at Nanaki's command.

"All right Shelke, I will lead you upstairs to her room to set to work. Do whatever is necessary to find all the information we need to know. I am counting on you and I know you will do a fantastic job."

Encouraged and reassured by Nanaki's words Shelke lifts everything into her small arms and follows him up the stairs toward the room where the woman rests.

"Oh my God! What are we going to do about her you guys? I really do not want to fight another Sephiroth clone again," panics Yuffie.

Tifa nods in quiet agreement while Cloud sinks into his own thoughts about the matter at hand. Cid and Barrett remain dead silent while holding Denzel and Marlene to comfort them.

Vincent, on the other hand, pulls out his Death Penalty and begins to clean it thoroughly. Not missing any crack or cress in the stunning but deadly weapon of its beholder.

Reeve studying Vincent's reaction carefully starts to develop that Vincent is on to something or has a theory of some sort. Vincent always has something in mind whenever he pulls out his prized possession and begins to clean it in a sleek fashion.

Back upstairs in the woman's room Shelke begins the autopsy of her slender body. It must be from the energy taken by the Jenova cell that was swimming inside her very blood that has made her so weak. Scanning for anymore survivors of Jenova, Shelke prints up the results to be negative and shows them to Nanaki.

He reads it thoroughly before giving it back to Shelke puzzled and confused in the process.

"We will think of what to do tomorrow or in the next day or two. Let us at least tell the others not to worry about her for the time being. We might not have to kill her after all."

Nodding in agreement Shelke packs up her machinery and heads down the stairs first with Nanaki right behind her. Before Shelke left the bar to put her equipment away Nanaki runs ahead saying, "Shelke could you do me this one last favor? I need you to go to the clinic or at least call them to see if we can receive a doctor to look at her for any damage done."

"Sure Red I would be happy to." Opening the door for Shelke, Nanaki waves her on to do her business and walks back to the others to tell them his decision.

"She has tested negative for anymore Jenova cells in her entire body for what we could see. I am still uneasy about her staying her or being alive because someone or something could be looking for her. But for now we can let her rest and figure out what to do tomorrow. I think we need a good nights rest before we make such a permanent decision. Does that sound good to everyone?"

"Yes that does sound better than the plan before," says Reeve. "I would like to sleep on it. Well I am off to see President Rufus to finish up our business, see you all tomorrow."

Gazing at Vincent once more Reeve rises and crosses the quiet bar to the door. Turning the knob he walks swiftly out the door into the bustling crowd with Cait Sith riding on his back.

Cid and Barrett also leave to take care of some errands around Migdar and Edge while Denzel and Marlene run off to play with the neighborhood kids.

School is out for them for the next two months for summer vacation, so they decide to roam the city near Tifa's bar, that way she will not worry over them so much. Cloud feels the need to visit the church again for his own personal reasons and tells Tifa that he will be back later to watch Denzel and Marlene for her.

With a tender smile Tifa waves goodbye to Cloud and rushes back to the counter to deal with the new customers that have arrived. Yuffie left before anyone could tell she was missing back to her materia shop on the corner.

It seems business is picking up over in her area too. Vincent still remained in the high dark table in the corner watching all the people come in and out of 7th Heaven with the items that they purchased in their hands.


	2. Meet Larissa

As time wore on night began to fall, everyone came back to 7th Heaven and had a celebration of being brought back together again. After the party ended around midnight everyone except Vincent went off to bed to dream.

Vincent had a better idea to check up on the woman before going off to bed to nightmares, but not as many of them as there used to be. Because of Lucrecia and the help from his friends Vincent no longer has as many horrors to haunt him at night, yet he has not outgrown the habit of staying awake throughout most of his nights.

Walking up the creaking stairs slowly he finally arrives at the top platform and turns left strolling all the way down the hall to his room. Looking at the guest bedroom across the hall from his own he secretly puts his real human hand onto the door knob and gently turns it to walk inside.

Poking his head halfway into the doorway he gazes upon the woman struggling on the bed next to the modern window. Low moans and stifled screams could be heard from her suffering mind of memories not long forgotten.

Closing in on her Vincent feels a certain current of energy flow throughout his body and into his brain. Suddenly he senses her cry for help to be set free from being combined with someone or something else.

Waving his hand over her head Vincent closes his eyes tight and tries to concentrate on what she sees. All Vincent could retrieve was a small village full of happy people with her sitting underneath a huge oak tree by a small marketplace.

Then it suddenly disappears into nothing but darkness and small cries from the woman on the bed.

"_The village must have been destroyed and she is blaming herself or it could have been her home that was taken from her as well,"_ thought Vincent.

Stepping away from her bed Vincent decides to stay in the same room with her to make sure she does not do anything out of the ordinary. Slipping into the bed next to hers he falls into deep slumber, but still struggles as much as the woman to fall completely asleep.

The next morning Nanaki calls everyone for a mandatory meeting in the drawing room off to the right of Tifa's small kitchen. When everyone took their place at the table Nanaki clears his throat for their attention.

"Well does anyone have any idea what to do with this mysterious woman in our care?"

Now it is Vincent's turn to clear his throat. "I want her to live." Everyone turned to face Vincent in an awed stance; no one knew what to say.

"Why do you want her to live Vincent? Don't you think she will cause trouble for us all? Please tell us what your point of view is," encourages Nanaki.

"This woman is suffering terribly from something and I want to help her. Last night I went into her room to check on her and she was struggling in her sleep. I also spotted tear drops on her pillow, so I slept in her room to make sure she was all right for the rest of the night."

Nanaki was speechless in Vincent's request to help this person, but felt in his heart that Vincent was most likely right about these kinds of things.

"Ok then it is settled. We will wait until she fully recovers to hear her story of what has happened to her. I am sure she will be a friendly person at least I hope so. What do all of you think?"

"That is a great idea," pipes up Yuffie.

"I want to help her too," says Tifa.

"She seems like a nice girl and I am sure we could use someone else around here," comments Cid.

"Yeah I agree with the rest of you guys," responds Barrett.

"Fine by me," says Cloud.

Reeve nods in agreement as he is reprogramming something for President Rufus with Cait Sith's help as usual. Hearing cries of faint despair Vincent automatically rises to his feet and begins to climb the stairs to the woman's room.

Taken by surprise Reeve looks at the antique stairs with curiosity.

"It seems Vincent is taken with this young lady. I can not wait for her to wake up now."

Neither could the rest of the group, to see what the woman's reaction would be to Vincent's abrupt kindness and to meet the others.

Many days went by before anyone saw any movement from the woman. On the last day of that week she finally opened her eyes to the shabby bedroom that she occupied.

Her soft golden brown eyes scanned the area for any intruders, but she found herself alone with unanswered emotions swimming inside her soul. Slowly touching her body for any scars or major injures she noticed that her sword was missing from her side.

"_Where is it? I know I had it earlier before I left Gaia. And where am I? I guess I might as well search the place for people who can help me."_

Rising from the comfy ancient bed she gazes at her surroundings for any clues of who might inhabit the area, but with no luck what so ever. Turning the knob gently clockwise she exits the room and starts to head toward the loud noises downstairs.

Reaching the head of the stairs she holds onto the railing because is seems she does not have all her strength back yet. The first person to hear someone coming down the stairs was Marlene and Denzel.

"Tifa, Tifa the woman is awake now. Look she is coming down the stairs and she is really pretty."

Looking in Marlene's direction Tifa witnesses the beautiful woman staring at everyone in her bar. The stranger had a body shaped perfectly for any man's dream or delight with soft glowing skin covering her strong structure, and illuminating brown eyes that held a cautious gaze among the crowd of onlookers.

Bringing her courage forward Tifa approaches the woman with one of her most gentle yet charming smiles.

"Hello there, I see that you have finally woken up. How do you feel? I am sure you are hungry. Why not come to the bar and I will serve you some lunch."

Startled by Tifa's speech the woman jumped lightly at the sound her voice. "Sure I would love something to eat. I am so confused right now that I do not know how I managed to arrive here of all places. Can you tell me what day it is and what this city is called?"

"Well I would love to answer all of your questions, but I want to wait for the rest of the group to arrive. You see they all want to meet you and I thought that we could all talk in the drawing room off to the kitchen here. Would that be okay with you?"

Searching into Tifa's eyes the woman decides to trust her and agrees to meet the rest of the group once they arrive into the city from their errands. As Tifa led the woman to the drawing room noises of a truck and motorcycles could be heard outside, giving a hint of everyone's arrival back to the bar.

Entering the drawing room first was Cid and Barrett with Yuffie and Nanaki right behind them. A few minutes later Vincent and Cloud enter with irritated looks about the girls giggling outside 7th Heaven. Reeve arrives about ten minutes later because of Cait Sith and his urgent plea to drop off the documents of a project to Reno and Rude.

Taking their seats around the dark cherry wood table with antique furnished chairs everyone glazes at the woman, waiting for her to speak her story.

"Well I guess we can all start by knowing your name first," Tifa began.

"My name is Larissa," says the woman softly. "I am from the village called Gaia; it is not far from the Gold Saucer area. My friends and I used to go there all the time for the entertainment."

"When you arrived here you abstracted something from your body that is known as a Jenova cell. Do you have any idea where it came from," inquires Nanaki.

Staring at the group before her, Larissa examines the faces very carefully, trying to see if anyone was untrustworthy in her mind.

Concentrating for a moment she recalls the scene perfectly and tells the group, "I remember someone walking into the village with a black cape on and he told me that I was to be his wife in order for him to become whole again. I also remember that if I did not cooperate with him that he would burn down the village and take me as a hostage until I agreed with his plan. I knew he was insane so I drew out my sword and began to fight him. We fought for some time when suddenly I saw a white flash before my eyes. Before I could figure out what had happened I was on the ground, loosing my strength fast. All I was able to do was watch this mysterious man burn down the village as promised and not being able to help the people. Of course we have gone through several drills, so they knew exactly what to do. He also told me that his name was Sephiroth, but a spirit of him not the real thing. I escaped just in time by teleporting wherever my body would take me, just as long as I was away from Gaia. The last words he spoke to me were, _"You will be my wife! I will find you and then we will be as one being!"_

Everyone around grew into a deadly silence at Larissa's words of her story, dreading another war against Sephiroth when they all thought he was gone for good.

"Wait, hold on just a sec. You mean to tell me that Sephiroth is still alive?! What the hell Cloud, you were supposed to finish him off!" Barrett became infuriated with this news of more fighting when they were finally at peace in many years.

"Now, now Barrett if we have to defeat Sephiroth again then we will until he is really gone," reassures Tifa.

"I am sorry to interrupt, but Sephiroth is my problem now. I will take care of him myself even if I am to sacrifice my body and soul to succeed. He is no longer your concern and besides there are the children and the people to consider. It will not be that difficult in destroying Sephiroth anyway because of the condition his spirit is in. I have never seen such a mutilated aura in all of my existence. Please do not worry about me, in a few days I will be gone to rebuild Gaia again with the rest of its people," concludes Larissa.

"No Larissa, you will not fight this battle alone," states Nanaki. "Seeing you weak as you were a few days ago does tell me that Sephiroth still has plenty of strength left. I refuse to stand idly by when there is another war going on. At least stay here in Midgar where we can help you."

Looking into Nanaki's bright yellow eyes Larissa feels a wave of trust wash over her body, a new emotion that she was not quite ready for.

Apparently her thoughts were revealed by her peaceful silence for Cid chides in, "I think that is a great idea Red. I know most of us are going to be around here for a while helping out Tifa and her business. Why not stay a while Larissa?"

The rest of the group tells Larissa that she should stay with them for some time, until she made up a plan to face Sephiroth and to reconstruct Gaia.

Meeting a diverse group of friends so quickly was unexpected and Larissa felt quite comfortable and content with her new surroundings. All she has to do now is try to keep their trust in her as she slowly reveals her past to them.


	3. Tour of Midgar

The bedroom became a debatable topic because of all the people that were staying at 7th Heaven. The real reason why this occurred was because everyone was fighting who Larissa would room with, except Vincent.

He quietly approaches Larissa and asks her in a gruff voice, "Would you like to room with me Larissa?"

Gazing into his blood red eyes Larissa feels a wave of kindness flowing from his spirit and willingly agrees to accept Vincent's generous offer.

"Well everyone I am going to room with Vincent since he asked me politely. You do not have to worry about me, I am sure he is safe enough."

Cloud felt concerned about the arrangement, but did not want to interfere. He knew Vincent would look after Larissa and besides he has been looking gloomy these past few days.

Maybe she can help him and Cid or Barrett would be the worst people to room with anyway. Nanaki and Reeve were always on the run and Nanaki likes to guard the bar at night for us, the appearance of the moon makes him feel at peace.

Yuffie stays at her materia shop to guard her possessions and Tifa shares her room with Marlene and Denzel to protect them. Cloud wanted Larissa to stay with him in the church, but was too afraid to ask her in front of everyone. That is why he admires Vincent's discrete way of talking to people; it just comes naturally to him.

"Damn Vince, I wanted her to stay with me," says Cid. "I know you're young, but I want to be young too. If you ever get tired of Vince here or if he creeps you out just sneak into my room and I'll protect you from him."

Turning around to leave the bar to his new airship he gives Larissa a big wink before heading out the door. As for the others Barrett takes Marlene and Denzel to play in the new park they have just built for the children.

It is just down the road from Children's Haven, a school for children of all different ages ranging from 4 to about 17 or 18 years old. Tifa and Yuffie went back to work while Nanaki went to go find Shelke in the laboratory on the east side of Midgar.

Reeve along with Cait Sith ran off to see President Rufus with Reno and Rude to finish up their paper work. Before Vincent could say another word Tifa's faint voice echoed through the stairs asking Vincent if he could do a quick errand to Kalm Town with a delivery of food.

A slight nod to Larissa gave her the hint that he had to leave, but would be back shortly. Swirling his tattered cape behind him he swiftly walks downstairs to receive his instructions from Tifa on the delivery.

Thinking of what to do with her spare time Cloud interrupts Larissa's thoughts by asking her, "Would you like me to give you a tour of Midgar? I am sure you would like to shop around and see a few things."

A brilliant smile flashed across Larissa's slender mouth, revealing pure white, rounded teeth neatly in line. Such a smile clung onto Cloud's memory and touched his cold heart with tenderness.

Then her soft voice answers, "That would be great, I am sure you know this vast city better than anyone else around here."

Taken by surprise at Larissa's comment Cloud did not know what to do but smile at her in response.

"Well shall we get going? There is so much to see in Midgar." Nodding her head in eagerness Cloud leads Larissa downstairs and approaches Tifa before they head out the door.

"Tifa I am taking Larissa with me into Midgar to show her around. We might come back late so don't worry about us. I will have my cell on if you need anything. Later."

As Cloud leaves the counter Tifa says, "Ok Cloud, you and Larissa have fun. I will see you both later on this evening."

Harmful those words were to her Tifa continued to tidy things up around the bar. She decided to go visit Barrett and the kids later to busy her mind from thoughts of Cloud.

She still has not confessed her love to him and now it is tearing her apart slowly because of all the girls who admire him. Now that Larissa has entered his life too, the gushing emotions of passion have turned into agonizing pain, but Tifa still believes fate will bring Cloud and her together someday.

On the streets of Midgar Cloud directs Larissa to the first set of department stores full of all kinds of items to purchase. The one that caught Larissa's eye out of all of them was a store with a broad sign that read:

**Full Throttle**

**The Art of Fighting is our Specialty.**

Cloud noticed the sudden stop of Larissa's light footsteps and offers to take her inside to find something more suitable to wear while in the city. The shopkeeper stared wide eyed at Larissa as she glided in with Cloud right behind her.

"Well hello beautiful! What can I get for you today?"

The shopkeeper's nervousness became apparent by the twitch in his left hand and the sweat developing on his shiny forehead. Not being able to control his eyes the little man looked Larissa all over to capture the mysterious beauty within her, but could not take it all in at one time.

"I was hoping if you had anything whimsical, but with a slight modern edge to it. I also use a sword for combat so I want the outfit to have plenty of room for quick movements."

Cloud's astonishment seemed to spread to the shopkeeper for they have never heard or seen a woman use a sword before. Searching through multiple outfits each one was presented to Larissa with negative responses. None of them seemed to impress her until she found what she was looking for. The outfit was hanging against the south wall of the store just to the right of the dressing room.

"I would like to try that one on if you do not mind," says Larissa with excitement in her eyes.

The shopkeeper rushes to the back of the store and removes it with his tall black hook. "Here you are lady, I hope you like it. We just got it in yesterday."

Thanking the shopkeeper kindly Larissa walks straight to the dressing room to try it on. When the outfit was successfully put on her it looked stunning.

The royal blue sleeveless shirt, outlined in a light silver thread made Larissa's fair skin stand out tremendously. The long flared pants were made of the same materia and had zippers for the pockets both front and back. It also had a zipper on the front of the sleeveless shirt, but there is an undershirt of the same color underneath to prevent onlookers or perverts from seeing anything.

The thick belt held a convenient place for Larissa to place her sword for combat and other items of great use. Even the dark black boots went well with the attire of being a swordswoman and the material held close enough to her that is showed off the deep curves of her body.

"I love this new look! How much is it sir?"

The shopkeeper's mouth lay half open as he gazed at Larissa, missing her question completely. Then Cloud repeated the question to the little man until he responded with a valid answer.

"This sale is on me this time Miss. I just love how that outfit looks on you, just go ahead and wear it out the door. I hope you come back soon and this is the only time you will get something free from me, so bring money next time."

Overjoyed by their good fortune Larissa walks out with a broad soft smile on her face while Cloud smiles back at her with the same expression.

Cloud showed Larissa everything about Midgar and its inhabitants. They went by the Children's Haven to see all the children playing in the new park just a few blocks away.

Among them was Barrett with Marlene and Denzel, they seem to be playing hide and go seek and Barrett was it. Strolling along the sidewalk they come across other stores and markets full of objects from all over the world.

The resident ional area was becoming nice too, with new homes being built the best way possible. The last place that Larissa had not seen yet was the church that Cloud stayed in and he decided to show her that last before going back to 7th Heaven.

"Here is the last stop for the day Larissa. As for the laboratory, headquarters, and the health clinic, I will show you those places tomorrow or whenever you like. This is the church that I stay in to have some peace and quiet from the world."

Opening the door slowly Cloud clears the way for Larissa to step inside first with him right behind her. Walking into the church cautiously Larissa starts to feel a spiritual presence about the room. Larissa closes her eyes briefly to see a woman about 22 years old with long brown hair tied back in a pony tail and bright green eyes looking back at her.

Before Larissa could ask this stranger who she was Cloud interrupts her thoughts by touching her lightly on the shoulder. The image immediately disappears and is replaced with a mini field of golden white flowers in the middle of the church floor.

"What beautiful flowers! Do they always grow here?" Larissa was amazed to see such elegant flowers multiply so easily in this hardening soil of the congested city.

"Yes, they have grown here as long as I can remember," replies Cloud.

Walking closer to the flowers Larissa also discovers a flow of some unknown energy coming from them. Touching the tip of the white powdered flower she stares wide eyed at it for a few seconds, thoughts racing rapidly.

"_What kind of energy is this?! Is it a source of life or is it just my imagination? I will have to come back here and ask the woman myself sometime." _Larissa lifts her slender finger from the flower with a peaceful look about her and glances at Cloud to see what he thinks about this place.

It seems to have some significant value to him since he has lived here for a few months now; by the way his possessions are arranged.

"I always like it here," says Cloud with a far off look upon his face.

"I really feel at home even though Tifa would like me to stay at 7th Heaven with her and the kids."

After a long silence Cloud comments, "I will stay with them one day, but for now I want to be left to my life alone."

An understanding smile shines brightly in Larissa as she says, "Yes, I can see what you mean. Having a place to come home to without being bombarded by people is a wonderful thing to have when you want to escape from it all."

Gazing up at the broken ceiling they could see the stars coming out, illuminating the ground with specks of light.

"We better get back to Tifa's bar. I would hate to have her organize a search party to come and find us."

Surprise struck Larissa so suddenly that Cloud quickly tells Larissa, "Tifa worries very much about people in general especially the ones she cares about."

Cloud and Larissa dash out of the church to 7th Heaven to meet the rest of the gang for dinner, hoping they will not upset anyone for being a little late.


	4. Goodnight

Upon entering the bar the first voice they were greeted with was Cid's teasingly saying, "Well now where have you two been? I thought we would have to send Reno and Rude out to look for you. Come on over here and sit down, there is plenty of food to go around."

As Larissa settles next to the vacant seat next to Vincent, Cloud sits between Nanaki and Tifa at the large U-shaped booth for dinner. Denzel, Marlene, Barrett, Cid, and Yuffie immediately scarf down their food while Reeves, Cait Sith, Shelke, Vincent, Nanaki, Cloud, Tifa, and Larissa ate their meal slowly.

This was the first time Larissa ever sat with the whole group in a friendly setting, she enjoyed it very much. Seeing Barrett and Cid drink themselves senseless was enough entertainment that lasted throughout most of the night.

By 9'oclock Denzel and Marlene fell asleep in Tifa's arms, lost in deep thoughts of their dreams.

"I better take these two off to bed; will you guys clean up for me?"

"Sure thing Tifa, we would be glad to," volunteers Reeves. Everyone began to rise from their seats except Barrett and Cid because of their alcohol contest. It appears that it has turned them into horrible smelling thugs who could not rise even if they wanted to.

"I will take care of them," says Nanaki. "There is this game I want to try out and these two are the perfect players for it." A sly smirk emerged from Nanaki's lips as he hauled off Barrett and Cid upstairs on his back one at a time.

Meanwhile, Cloud slips out the back door of the kitchen and walks to the church to sleep for the night. Yuffie runs out the front door to her materia shop to guard it from burglars and Shelke with Reeves goes upstairs to their own rooms for rest.

Nanaki and Cait Sith are outside watching out for suspicious people, so the only ones left are Larissa and Vincent. Vincent motions for Larissa to follow him upstairs where they will be staying and Larissa quickly obeys. With his normal black gloved hand, Vincent gently opens up the door to their room and turns on a light for them to see.

As Larissa enters the room he closes the door quietly behind her.

Still staring at her Vincent asks, "Why did you accept my offer? I mean you hardly know me and the way I am dressed… I just thought you would shrink away from me or have second thoughts."

It was Larissa's turn to stare at Vincent, but with a calm expression of reasoning.

"The reason why I did not hesitate to your offer was because I sensed your spirit to be good and that you would not harm me. Ever since I was 5 years old I developed a power to read, talk, and listen to people telepathically. I can also sense people's emotions to a certain degree. But even if I did not have all of these abilities I would have still accepted you, for you were the only one who asked me nicely to stay with them."

A kind smile enveloped Vincent into warmth of comfort as he listened to Larissa, but many questions began to race through his mind.

"How can you walk around such a large city as Midgar and not break down? Does anyone else know about your power and can anyone else learn it from you? What is it like to hear and sense other people?"

More questions were about to erupt, but Vincent decided to hold back, feeling a little embarrassed by his sudden eagerness to know everything about her.

Laughing lightly Larissa replies, "It used to break me down many times, but not anymore. I have trained myself to listen to the people I want to hear and believe me that task was not easy. Besides some of the people in Gaia that I lived with are the only other person who knows about this. I hope you will keep it a secret from the others for now. I do not want to scare them and as for the sensing and hearing part I would say it is entertaining, yet tragic in some ways. Other people can learn the same ability, but it will take some time before it is completely mastered. Would you like to learn it Vincent? I am sure you will catch on rather quickly."

Excitement flooded Vincent's blood stained eyes as he willingly agrees to learn this new ability and to keep it a secret from the others.

"One other thing I have to ask Larissa, since you said you can read people's thoughts can you give me a prime example of what you have discovered?"

"Sure Vincent. The most recent one I have discovered since my second day of being here consciously is that Tifa is deeply in love with Cloud. She did not like it when he volunteered to give me a tour of Midgar by himself. I sensed the anger and jealously right from the start before Cloud mentioned the tour. By your surprised expression I seem to have found something, am I right?"

Vincent's jaw fell half way open at Larissa's discovery about Tifa's emotions towards Cloud. Everyone in the group knew about it because she told them, but for an outsider to find out so quickly was extraordinary.

"Yes you are correct Larissa and I have to say that I am deeply amazed. I cannot what to start."

"We can start tomorrow whenever you have time, but for now I suggest we rest. You are going to need most of you strength for this task. Goodnight Vincent."

Nodding his head in agreement Vincent rolls down his bed sheets for the first time in months and climbs in. Lying on his side facing Larissa's bed he sees that she is already surrendering to sleep as she closes her eyes.

"Goodnight Larissa," whispers Vincent as he turns out the light to go to bed.


	5. Dreams of Destruction

As the trees danced their midnight waltz outside, turmoil was ceasing Vincent in his dreams of the past inside. Tossing and turning restlessly he tries to fight off Chaos from his darkening taunts of doubt.

"_What were you thinking Vincent," _says Chaos. _"You believe that if you get close to this strange freak that all your problems will be solved? Ha! You are such a fool for thinking such irrational thoughts of hope. She can do nothing to save you from me; I will be in your mind, body, and soul for eternity! Do not cry my friend, at least you have someone like me to keep you company." _

"_What are you talking about Chaos?! I know you are going to be here forever, but that does not me I have to suffer the whole time," _Vincent hisses back. _"I will find my way to survive and find happiness in this hellhole. Why not let me sleep for a change? I have not slept in months or maybe a year, I cannot remember."_

"_And ruin the fun? He He, no Vincent I think I will torture you tonight instead. It is such a great stress reliever and as you said before you have not slept for quite some time. Tonight's torture will be about Lucrecia and how you were unable to stop her from marrying Hojo. LET THE TORTURING BEGIN!"_

"_NO!!! I do not want to see that again, please I beg you Chaos. I will do anything you want just do not show me those horrible memories again."_

"_I am afraid you do not have an option Vincent. Enjoy the rest of your twisted dreams that surround you with darkness."_

Cruel echo's of laughter was all that was left of Chaos's deadly voice as Vincent silently screamed for help. Low moans of pain streamed out of his mouth as he whispered Lucrecia's name into the night, hoping that she might be able to end this traumatic nightmare.

Larissa on the other side of the room feels an agonizing emotion shiver down her spine and wonders where it is coming from. Waking up cautiously she looks to her left and witnesses Vincent struggling madly in his sleep. Tears ran down his cheeks dryly as he moaned and groaned about something Larissa could not understand.

Realizing that Vincent was experiencing a painful nightmare Larissa quickly rises and rushes to Vincent's bed to steady him as best as she could. While steadying Vincent, Larissa raised her cool hand onto his forehead and used her spirit energy to enter his mind. Little did she know what she was about to see, for when she arrived in Vincent's mind she let out a low gasp of horror.

Upon entering Vincent's mind she saw a man with bright yellow eyes shining in the darkness. He was leaning over another man that Larissa predicted to be Vincent, crying for help and screaming for this woman named Lucrecia to not marry some mad scientist.

"_Lucrecia think about it, do you really believe Hojo will make you happy? I love you and I want you to be my wife. Lucrecia why are you crying? Please do not cry you know how your tears fill me with grief and despair."_

Suddenly the scene flashes before Larissa's eyes for her to see and she begins to understand part of why Vincent isolates himself from others. His inner conflict to forgive himself and to let go of the past is what is holding him back.

While Chaos laughed harder at Vincent's vibrating body, Larissa continues to watch his agonizing past of a lost love and how this creature became one with his own body.

"_Ha Ha Vincent, I am really enjoying myself, what about you?"_

The smile that he wore on his shadowed face was unbearable to where Larissa stepped boldly forward to confront him. The smirk and laughter faded as Chaos felt the presence of another spirit in the murky room.

The scenes died out quickly and Larissa now could see the area more clearly. Vincent's spirit was lying on the floor with this creature named Chaos hovering over him, but looking in all directions for the new spirit who has arrived.

"_Someone is here Vincent; do you now who it is?"_

Vincent jerks up to see an outline of Larissa's body emerge from the shadows. Dim light glowed from her body as she walked from the screen into the base of the room, near Vincent's body.

"_Who the hell are you and why have you come to spoil my fun? I did not invite anyone else but Vincent. Be gone from this place right now or I will force you out."_

Coming even further into the room she saw what Chaos really was. He looked like the cross between Diablo and a faded skin of a gargoyle that had been out in the sun too long. His deadly claws refluxed slowly as he walked toward Larissa, ready to strike.

Seeing this Vincent immediately rises to his feet and begins to charge at Chaos to knock him off balance. Before he came in contact with Chaos, Larissa's voice cries out,_ "Stop Vincent! I can handle Chaos from here, you have suffered enough tonight. Besides I want to test my spirit energy on someone who is worthy of it." _

Now it was Larissa's turn to put on an evil smirk of her own which frightened Vincent a little bit.

"_So you want to fight me do you? Well come and whatever you do, do not disappoint me."_

Walking into the full circle of the blood stained chamber Larissa and Chaos raise their hands into a combating stance, ready to throw anything that came to their minds first.

"_Well I guess we better go over the rules before we begin,"_ says Chaos sarcastically.

"_There are no rules,"_ responses Larissa coldly.

Taken by surprise at this answer Chaos lightly lets his guard down, giving Larissa full advantage to attack him in the chest. Ceasing her opportunity Larissa rushes forward with a direct punch to Chaos's heart, denting his chest plate slightly in the process.

Flabbergasted by this sudden turn of events Chaos rolls to the opposite side of the room to check the damage done to his chest.

"_You were lucky to have such an advantage on me, but do not think I will give it to you so willingly. Prepare for my true power and nature!" _

While studying Chaos on his first move Larissa realizes that he is gathering his own spirit energy and turning it into a gigantic ball. A hit like that will send Larissa out of Vincent's mind and straight into the wall for sure. Hopefully the head injury will not be as severe as the impact it will have on her body.

Doing the same thing as Chaos, Larissa starts to gather her own spirit energy so she can cancel out his and not have to be thrown out too quickly in the fight. Vincent could not believe that Larissa was that strong in the first place.

Sure she survived Sephiroth's torn spirit attack, but Chaos was a full blooded demon with enormous powers. He just did not think she would be able to make it out alive and he was afraid of that. He also felt ashamed that he could not help Larissa in this battle because of his weakened spirit from the torture.

Sitting down restlessly on the outside of the circle Vincent continued to watch Larissa and Chaos fight to the death or who would surrender first. Making sure her timing was just right Larissa throws the energy ball just in time to counter Chaos's, him cursing under his breath along the way.

"_I hope you are not taking me lightly Chaos. I hate it when others belittle my abilities and powers, especially a stranger." _

Fire erupted in Chaos's eyes as he began to throw medium size energy balls at Larissa, missing every shot except the one that hit her left shoulder. Some of her spirit fluid spilled onto the floor, but was retrieved swiftly by Larissa's fast healing magic.

Growing angrier by the second Chaos tries to unleash another ball when Larissa counters him with an energy ball of her own. She made at least three of the shots out of many throws making Chaos burn with frustration.

"_That is it! I am through playing games with you; instead I think I will give you this as a goodbye present. I hope you feel plenty of pain when you return to your own body and that you remember that it was Chaos who gave it to you."_

With both hands this time Chaos lifts a gigantic energy ball over his head and throws it at Larissa with lightening speed. Before she could make something to shield herself with it was too late.

The ball targeted Larissa's own heart and she could not stop the sudden rush from sweeping her off her feet and into one of the walls of Vincent's memory bank. Slamming into the spongy wall hard Larissa begins to slip between the lines and falls back into her body on the other side.

From there she releases her hand from Vincent's forehead, springs back into her own body, and then her body jerks violently back against the apartment wall. Blood begins to trickle down from Larissa's forehead and onto her face as she slips down the wall to the floor very slowly.

Laughing harder than ever Chaos moves the screen in front of Vincent for him to see the results of his impact. When the screen finally comes to life all you saw was Larissa's body against the wall with her eyes wide open as if she died in that very spot. Besides the blood dripping from her forehead you could also see specks of it decorating the wall behind her.

Vincent became enraged with anger to where his spirit energy started to flow back in rapid intervals to all parts of his body. Lifting his energy high over his head Vincent attacked Chaos with full force. The power was so great that is knocked Chaos back into his own room, dazed.

"_I have to wake up and help Larissa quickly. I hope that I did not kill her and if I did I will have to go away for a while. Might have to lock myself up again and this time for good."_

Springing back into reality Vincent rushes to Larissa's body and begins to feel for a pulse. At first he did not sense anything, but in a matter of seconds her heart began to pump slowly in her chest.

Slight relief and concern mixed with joy swept Vincent almost off his feet, yet he remained calm and waited for her to come around when she was ready. He checked the clock and was shocked to see that it was already 9 a.m.

Everyone downstairs is going to investigate soon and he did not have a plan. Concentrating on what to do next he glanced at Larissa and witnessed her eyes were moving.

Taking his normal hand he gently took her head away from the wall to check the damage. The head injury was not as severe as he thought, but just to make sure he went under his bed and pulled out the first aid kit.

Before Vincent could apply the antibiotics Larissa began to move aggressively to full consciousness. Every part of her body came to life so abruptly that Vincent thought she was having a seizure.

Suddenly a faint voice came from her lips saying, "S-S-S-Sorry Vincent. I…did not…mean…to scare…you. My body…will be…fine, I…just have to…recuperate…from the…blow. I…should not…have taken…such a…big…risk. Are you…okay?"

Nodding his head to reassure Larissa of his condition Vincent walks cautiously to the door and opens it to check if everyone is downstairs already. He could here dishes being washed and utensils being used as the group pilled their breakfast plates with eggs, sausage, pancakes, and hash browns.


	6. The Delayed Arrival

And speaking of downstairs Nanaki is the first person to say something on this fine morning in Midgar.

"Have any of you seen Vincent or Larissa yet? I was sure they would be down here early or on time at least."

Everyone shook their heads as Cloud stepped into the doorway of 7th Heaven looking for his breakfast. Seeing that most of the group had puzzled expressions he asks, "What's going on, is there a problem this morning?"

Barrett volunteers his explanation by replying, "Well Red here was saying that he hasn't seen Vincent or Larissa at all this morning. If you ask me I think they might have got it on last night or something because I kept hearing all this damn noise coming from their room or in that direction. I tell ya young kids just can't keep it to themselves."

Cid nods his head in agreement as Red looks at them both with an astonished look about him. Clouds eyes dilated at the thought of Vincent even attempting to do something as sexual activity, especially to a stranger who happened to be a woman. But then again…maybe it was best to not jump to that conclusion just yet, at least not until they come downstairs to explain themselves thoroughly.

As Tifa eavesdropped from the bar she dropped one of the plastic glasses into the sink again, causing a mild splash of soapy water onto her clothes. As Yuffie strolls from her shop across the street she hears something related to sex from the table and rushes right over to hear the scoop.

Gossip was one of her favorite things to listen to and tell if she had any good tall tales to share.

"What you fella's talking about so early this morning? Are Vincent and Larissa downstairs yet? I tell you they must be real sleepy to not have come down by now," pipes up Yuffie to the others.

"I am sure they are on their way," answers Tifa. For some reason everyone felt comforted by Tifa's words of reassurance whenever the time was right for them.

Back upstairs in Vincent's bedroom Larissa struggles to rise to her feet and balance her body, so nothing would look suspicious.

When she looked at the clock on the bed side table she exclaims, "Dammit! I bet the whole crew downstairs is probably making up wild scenarios of what is taking us so long. Come on Vincent, I think I can make it down a few flight of stairs this morning, though you might have to be ready just in case I fall."

Taking Larissa's arm in his Vincent leads her out the door and to the beginning of the stairwell that leads to the kitchen below. When they did finally arrive to the diner portion of 7th Heaven everyone turned around and gasped at what they saw.

Larissa and Vincent were locked arm in arm, breathing hard. Apparently the affects of Chaos are starting to work on them from last night.

Cloud walks forward and almost screams, "What have you done to her?! I want an explanation now!"

"We will once we get some water or something because I feel so dehydrated this morning," replies Larissa.

Vincent only can nod in agreement since his strength was used up the most during the night. After everyone settled around the large round booth in the corner of the diner Larissa explained the whole night in one sentence. Going into details would just create more questions then what was already being asked.

"We will be just fine, yet a little rest later on might help out. But before I do anything today I want to go to the laboratory with you today Shelke. I want to see if I can track down one of the people from my village, just to see what they have been doing. You do have a tracker of some sort at the lab don't you Shelke?"

Inclining her head slightly in response Larissa took that as a yes. Rising from the table with Shelke Larissa signals Vincent to the door.

"Hold on Shelke, this will only take a minute."

Shelke continued out the door to the little motorcycle outside the bar to start it up.

A low hum came from the motor as Larissa whispers into Vincent's ear, "I think we should hold off on starting the lessons for a while. I think if I interfere with your mind Chaos will make your life more of a living hell then it already is, memory wise. I am going to the lab to see if I can find a loop hole or something. Do not worry, I will teach you."

Reaching her hand up she gently touches Vincent's soft pale face briefly before heading out the door to meet Shelke on the bike, waving to the others as she went.

Reeve's curiosity could not stay inside him any longer. "So it seems that you and Larissa have become really close. Is she your secret girlfriend, because if she is you hide it very well."

His smile seemed contagious for everyone else smiled in return, it even made Barrett and Cid chuckle under their breath. Vincent did not say a word to anyone; he just sat back at the table and began to eat his breakfast like nothing had happened.

Nanaki teased him along with Cait Sith for a little while before letting him deliver some packages down the street from the bar.

Along the dirt road toward the lab Shelke and Larissa ride in silence, enjoying the scenery as they pass the city by.

"So where do you think your people are staying for the time being? I am a little surprised that they have not come to look for you," Shelke says quietly.

Her voice made Larissa jump slightly on the soft black leather seat of the motorcycle as they approached the lab a few miles away from where they were.

Adjusting herself back onto the seat properly Larissa responses, "The people of Gaia probably believe that I was killed by Sephiroth's spirit or they are too afraid to come out of hiding. Those people were not very brave to search for someone that is wanted by a tormented spirit."

Catching Larissa's humor shortly after her statement Shelke laughs lightly while she finds a parking spot for the bike out of the damp sand. The motor dies abruptly in the vacant lot just outside the old modern building.

"Well here we are, the Midgar Lab, says Shelke. "I will lead you to the computer room off to the right of the entrance. I hope you can find your people and what else you are looking for."

Nodding in gratitude toward Shelke Larissa follows behind her with quickening pace to the front door of the lab.

"_Maybe I will also check my body to see how much the wing has grown. If I am not careful it might sprout right out of my clothes if I can not control it before hand. I could also look up the records that belong to the makeup of Chaos in Vincent's body. There has to be a way to subside his power to let Vincent learn the telepathy technique he desires." _More thoughts flowed through Larissa's mind as she walked into the computer room to start her search for the questions unanswered.


	7. Fragments of Larissa

Upon entering the computer room Larissa spies a CAT scan kind of device in the far right corner of the electrified lit room. Walking toward it cautiously she examines the type of technology the machine uses and how fast the results would come in.

Seeing where the x-rays come out of a slot at the end of the device she decides to use it to check for her wing. After the incident last night with Vincent she has been experiencing a light bulge coming out of her right shoulder.

Thinking it must be way too early for the wing to be more than a small bump in her body Larissa hauls herself up onto the table and straps in, ready to go through the CAT scan. Praying as she uses her black magic to strike the switch on the left side of her legs Larissa goes through the CAT scan, shaking mildly from the bright lights that envelop her.

Within seconds the scan was over and Larissa rushes to undo the straps on her body and crosses over to the slot for the results. The paper seemed to come out slowly as she waited anxiously to see how much her wing had grown. If the wing has grown as much as she thought it would, then she would have to go back to her old laboratory to find the shot to keep it under her skin.

Larissa did not want to tell everyone about her connection to Sephiroth and the Jenova Project. Not to mention that she was cremated instead of a natural birth like Sephiroth himself. When it seemed like an eternity the thin paper finally was released from the machine and landed onto the floor.

Reading it rapidly Larissa let out a small cry. The wing had grown twice as much as she expected it to causing a huge pointed bulge in her shoulder. She would have to put off finding her village for another day or so for Larissa had to take care of her body first. Sneaking out the door of the computer room she runs to the nearest tree and uses her Teleport magic to take her to the lab of painful memories.

When Larissa arrived at the crumbled ruins of her old laboratory 16 years of her life there flashed before her eyes. Everything came flooding back from the time they enclosed her in one of the experimental tanks to when they gave her specific orders to kill certain people.

Never in her life did she feel used and betrayed in so many ways unimaginable. Carefully walking on what remained of the stairs Larissa opens the door quietly and enters the main hallway. The only lab that functioned properly was the one in the far left corner in the back of the building.

Jumping over the holes in the floor Larissa manages to reach the doorknob of the lab and swings it open for her to leap in. Searching high and low she finally stumbles upon the injections to keep her wing under control. Sadly there were only twelve of them that lasted for a month each. Larissa felt a streak of panic rush up her arm as she looked around frantically for more of them, but came out with the same results of what she had in her hands.

"_I only have a year left with the group before I have to disappear. What I am going to say to them? How will I explain my situation? If I told them I am part of the Jenova Project they will want to kill me for sure," _Larissa thought.

Making a plan was not going to be easy this time for Larissa. She cared very deeply for her new friends and would hate to leave them on such short notice all because of her curse. But it would be better for her to flee for she did not want to put anyone in danger. The last time her wing was in its full development was when she lost control of most of her body. That was at least 12 years ago or so when one of the scientists wanted to experiment the reaction of the cells in her body.

Before leaving the room Larissa took one last glance at what used to be her tortured home of her childhood when suddenly,

**FLASHBACK**

"Hojo sir, the specimen is ready." Turning around slowly Professor Hojo faces the newcomer and flashes him an evil grin.

"Excellent, bring her in. I want to see my lovely creation in action, make sure she is awake." With that the new assistant rushed out of the room and entered the lab to retrieve the new creature.

When the little man finally came back with the specimen it was in a tank filled with green fluid to keep her alive. Hojo walked up to it while laughing evilly under his breath and touched the glass. Instantly she woke up and began to act violently, thrashing her fists against the glass to try and break free.

"It seems we will have to train her to play nice," says Hojo. "She is a beautiful creature is she not Spence?"

Spence, the new assistant, nodded nervously toward Hojo as he continued to watch her struggle through the green stained glass tank. "Sir if I may ask, what is that bulge coming out of her shoulder there?"

Hojo laughed again only this time more hysterically at Spence's question. He either thought it was a stupid one or he was too proud of his genius design.

"That bulge Spence is the other wing. This woman is Sephiroth's other half, just in case if he should fall he can absorb her body and become one with her. This will cause a stronger being to be formed and he can take over the world with Jenova, is said mother. You could say she is his wife just to put a romantic touch on it. The only sad thing is that her wing is white, which leads to the part that she is pure. Unlike Sephiroth who has a black wing and is the source of everything that is evil. That is why I like Sephiroth better and he is my son after all."

A huge smirk crossed Hojo's face that made Spence cringe, but he still had one question that continued to nag at his brain. "But Hojo, since she is pure will she do as you ask? I mean she might become a problem that would not be worth our time to deal with."

"Do not worry Spence. She will be under my control whether she likes it or not. And I finally have a name for her."

"What would that be Hojo?" Spence waits anxiously for his reply hoping the name will be decent.

"Her name will be Larissa. It means cheerful and I think that will suit her just fine since she will be sucking all the cheerfulness out of this pathetic world when I am through with her training."

Laughing away Hojo leaves the room leaving Spence to look at Larissa with a pitiful smile. "I wish there was something I can do for you." With that Spence leaves also while Larissa continues to pound mercilessly on the glass. Then…

**End of FLASHBACK**

Larissa shakes her head as she views her surroundings to be in the same room, yet in a ruined state. Dashing back into the disoriented hallway she leaps over the holes two at a time to reach the front door.

Running out the front door Larissa takes one last glance at the laboratory before teleporting herself back to the laboratory in Midgar.

Now back in the computer room in Midgar's laboratory Larissa folds the piece of paper of her test results and places them securely into her pocket. The next task that she originally came for was to search for her friends that escaped the burning of Gaia, her home away from her agonizing past.

Sitting quietly at the computer Larissa puts in the search engine: Gaia survivors. The results satisfied her that the people were scattered in Wimbling and Rocket Town. All she had to do now was draw new floor plans for the construction that had to be done to restore Gaia. All excited about seeing her people again Larissa gently rises from the leather chair and shuts off the computer as she heads out the door.

"Shelke," Larissa calls. "I am ready to leave now; if you like I can make my own way back to 7th Heaven."

Walking quickly down the hall Shelke meets Larissa at the entrance and replies, "If you do not mind Larissa because I have some unfinished work to attend to. Are you sure you will be ok by yourself?"

Patting Shelke on the shoulder to reassure her that the journey will be no trouble at all Larissa turns around and walks out the door, heading to 7th Heaven to meet the others for dinner.


	8. Vincent Learns Telepathy

Late that evening Larissa arrives at the door of 7th Heaven with a gloomy air about her. Everyone inside seemed to be having a marvelous time with Cid and Barrett arguing about something, but laughing it off in the end.

Larissa's gloom came over her as she let her mind wonder on her way back to Midgar. She did not want to tell everyone of her problem and have to leave them behind. Larissa had grown very fond of the children and Vincent has become one of her closest companion for the past few weeks. Not to mention Cloud who has started to open up to her about his past experiences with Sephiroth and to be always on your guard.

Of course how could Larissa forget Yuffie and Tifa who have been nothing but kind and friendly to her while Nanaki pals around with her when she runs errands through town. Reeves and Cait Sith are always entertaining to watch as much as Cid and Barrett arguing over who should do the chores around 7th Heaven.

Before walking in to the splendid meal Larissa decides to stay outside a little longer to enjoy the pale moon and the constellations in the sky high above. Larissa walks to the side of the bar and jumps lightly on top of the roof, so as to not make too much noise for the others to notice.

Meanwhile… "Where the hell is Larissa, she should have been here hours ago! I don't see why she never comes in here on time. Always dragging her ass in her late and expects us to stay up all night to eat with her. I say let her go hungry tonight, that will teach her to get her lazy ass back here when we tell her to," booms Barrett.

Cloud noticed that Larissa had not made it back yet either and was starting to get worried about her and that maybe Sephiroth might have caused trouble. Vincent on the other hand just rose from his seat and walked straight out the door without saying a word of where he was going.

"What the f is up with Vince? He never tells you shit about anything, he just leaves you hanging until he decides to tell you what's up at the last minute. He's worse than you Cloud," says Cid while taking another beer out of the cooler.

Luckily Tifa grabs the beer out of Cid's hand, causing him to cuss her out like there is no tomorrow. Tifa just looks him dead in the eye and says, "I think you have had enough booze for one night. Everyone should be off to bed anyways since it is so late. We have plenty of work we all need to do tomorrow."

Grumbling off to bed Cid along with Barrett go upstairs while everyone else went to their posts for the night. Outside 7th Heaven Vincent peers up on the roof and sees Larissa's shoes hanging off the edge and decides to join her for the night.

Vincent jumps on top of the roof too and sits right next to Larissa, gazing at Midgar in its cool relaxed state of the night.

"Evening Vincent," greets Larissa. "I thought you would be in bed by now since you did not sleep well the night before."

Vincent only shrugs his shoulders in reply and leans back on the slanted portion of the roof to support his very thin body. Sitting silently for about 10 minutes Larissa decides to teach Vincent the technique he has longed to learn for weeks. By now Larissa has been staying with them for about a month and has learned something about everyone, especially Vincent.

Propping herself against the slanted portion of the roof beside Vincent, Larissa asks gently, "Vincent would you like to learn how to speak to me telepathically?"

His eyes flew wide open at the question she was asking him and he turned his head quickly to look her in the eyes for the truth. What Vincent saw in Larissa's golden eyes was pure honesty, which he had never known before in his entire life.

Slowly he says, "I would love to start the lessons if that's ok with you, Larissa. Please show me how."

"All right then let's start right now. Vincent I want you to clear your mind of everything, it needs to be a blank slate. To achieve this you must lie perfectly still and close your eyes to block out anything that might distract you. Since we are lying down on this roof it would be wise to straighten up your body as much as you can, but stay relaxed."

Following her directions exactly Vincent lies vertically with Larissa and begins to clear his mind for the next instructions.

"Once this is done you now make a mental picture of the person you want to talk to telepathically. That way you can connect with him or her much easier and there will be no complications. Please tell me when you are ready for the next step Vincent."

Making a mental picture of Larissa in his mind Vincent could not help but smile a little because of the joy he brought her.

Gruffly he replies, "I am ready, tell me what to do next."

"Ok now it is time to do the difficult part of this technique. You have to reach out as far as you can, with your mind I might add, to connect with that person you wish to speak to. That is the only way I can explain it and you will know when you have succeeded when you feel a tingle run through your body. Also you will hear that person's voice inside your head either faintly or very clearly, depending on how advanced you are. Start reaching out right now to see if it works."

Vincent almost clinched his fists while in the process of reaching out to Larissa and managed to hear her voice faintly inside his own mind saying, "Hi Vincent, can you hear me?"

He responds back, "Yes I can barely hear you, but at least it worked."

Larissa pops open her eyes to gaze at the stars once more before telling Vincent that she was tired and was going off to bed.

"You did a wonderful job tonight Vincent," says Larissa. "We will continue with these lessons for a couple of nights until you get the hang of it, if you want to that is."

Opening his eyes he leans on his side to glance at Larissa and gives her a gentle smile of pride and pleasure.

"I would like that very much, just let me know when and where you want to practice," whispers Vincent as he thought he heard someone down below in the kitchen retrieving a glass of water.

Both crept down from the roof of 7th Heaven and went inside to bed, knowing they had many tasks to do the next day.

For the next few nights Vincent and Larissa practiced for nearly 2 hours. By the end of the second week they had finally mastered the technique to talk among each other through wave lengths of their brains.

To test this theory they went downstairs together one morning to eat breakfast with everyone, but they were silent the whole time externally.

Mentally they were saying: _"Just look at them Vincent. They have no idea what is going on between us, I bet Barrett thinks we are mad at each other or something,"_ says Larissa giggly.

"_I love this new way of talking to you Larissa. Now they can stop giving us such a hard time over us being together so much. So what are you doing today?"_ Vincent and Larissa continued to talk in their minds the whole morning while Nanaki studied them closely.

Barrett gave up trying to figure out what was going on and went with Marlene to retrieve Denzel from upstairs in his slumber. Cloud walks in abruptly seeing Larissa and Vincent looking in each others eyes as if in a serious conversation, yet their lips were not moving at all. This quite disturbed him, but not for very long before Tifa called him over to the counter to deliver something to Yuffie across the street.

Carrying the package out of 7th Heaven Cloud looks back again at them and sees that Larissa is rising from her chair to the counter to request for another glass of cold fresh water. An idea came to Cloud's mind to invite Larissa to Yuffie's materia shop since she had never had a real tour of it before.

Walking back into 7th Heaven Cloud asks, "Larissa since you are up would you like to go with me to Yuffie's shop across the street? I know I haven't given you a tour of that yet."

Larissa quickly turns around with a cute smile on her face towards Cloud and says, "Sure Cloud why not? I have never been to Yuffie's shop yet even though I promised her a few days ago to see it."

Gazing at Vincent before she left Larissa mentally says, _"I will be back in a little while Vincent. If you like you can practice going outside with other people to see if you can handle their oncoming thoughts as well. That will be our next lesson and if you need anything you know who to think about." _

"_Thank you Larissa and I will give the next lesson a try. I know you will find me later to see how well I am doing. Oh and when you go to Yuffie's shop be prepared for her to scream and jump around. She loves having visitors she knows personally."_

Nodding her head lightly towards Vincent she walks out the door with Cloud, waving to Tifa as she leaves.

When Larissa and Cloud arrive at Yuffie's materia shop she runs up to Larissa and gives her a huge bear hug. Then she went to Cloud and did the same jester while taking the package Tifa had sent to her from him and opened it up immediately. Inside the box was a warm breakfast that Tifa made especially for her and Yuffie looked like she was about to cry.

"I just love Tifa! I can't believe she made this and sent you Cloud to give it to me. Not only that but you brought Larissa with you too. I am just overwhelmed with joy. Ok what would you like to see first?"

Yuffie gave them the grand tour of all tours of her materia shop that she was so proud of. Larissa did not understand the importance of these crystal balls until Cloud explained it to her afterwards.

"These tiny crystal balls are what give humans special abilities. For example a woman, man, or child can learn how to use White, Black, and Time magic along with certain Summons. All it takes is practice and anyone can master these techniques over a period of time. But since we have not had any disturbances we hardly use them anymore. Yuffie just sells them for a decoration in your home, jewelry, or if people want to learn those techniques they can still find them easily."

"Wow, that's wonderful. Those crystals seem to have an eerie beauty about them; it makes me wish that I had a purpose to use one," says Larissa.

While Larissa and Cloud were still in Yuffie's shop Vincent decided to take Larissa's advice and try out his new technique among the public. All he had to do was balance the thoughts of others around him without panicking or fainting in front of everyone.

Stepping outside of 7th Heaven he opens his mind up to the public, but was swept away by everyone's thoughts. Vincent had never dreamed of hearing such agonizing, insane, and enjoyable images of this society all at once. The pain was so unbearable that he did not realize that he was screaming with his hands over his face.

Inside Yuffie's shop Larissa suddenly hears an ear splitting cry ringing in her head and realizes that it is Vincent.

Rushing out the door she calls out to Cloud, "I hear Vincent screaming outside, we need to help him."

Cloud dashes outside after Larissa and finds her on her knees beside Vincent, trying to calm him down. He runs over to Vincent's other side and tries to comfort him as well, but the horrifying scream would not stop.

Prying Vincent's hands away from his face, Larissa places her hands onto his cold sweating face and gently leans her head towards him, so their foreheads would touch. Once inside Vincent's mind she could see all the pain mixed in with other quick emotions of the public combined with his thoughts.

Carefully Larissa reaches out to him with her mind saying, _"Vincent calm down. I am right here, just close your mind slowly and the overwhelming pain with cease. I am sorry I was not there to help you. It is my entire fault that you are in such a state." _

When Larissa opened her eyes she noticed that the screaming had stopped completely, but now Vincent was clinging onto her body, unable to let go. Everyone from 7th Heaven came outside to see what was going on while others gazed on in confusion. Cloud tried to release Larissa from Vincent's grasp with little success. In fact his grip grew tighter around Larissa's waist while his eyes revealed how he truly felt. Fear and regret seemed to dominate the rest of his emotions as Vincent stared into Larissa's golden eyes for comfort.

By then Yuffie came running to Vincent's other side yanking at his hands to let Larissa go, but she fell on the paved road in her trying efforts. The only solution Larissa could come up with was to carry Vincent inside 7th Heaven to rest in his room until he could explain what had happened.

Gently rising from the road, Larissa places her own hands onto his and releases herself from his grasp quite easily. Cloud and Yuffie just stared at her with astonishment and wonder of how she was able to escape Vincent's iron grip. To keep him from falling all over the place Larissa places her arms around his waist and starts to guide him back to the bar and straight up the stairs in a swift pace.

Everyone outside stared in bewilderment at them and the scene they had just witnessed. Reno and Rude also did not know what to make of it, but they stored it away in their memory banks to tell President Rufus about it later. He has been curious of Vincent and Larissa's activity since the first day she showed up unexpectedly at their door step by the aid of Nanaki. Sometimes Rufus's mind would wonder, in his opinion, to Larissa's majestic beauty, yet he could not image a woman such as her to come to him willingly. He would have to make a private visit with her someday for his mind craved to know her. Right now he would have to wait and hope that Reno and Rude would do the job correctly for once.

Returning to 7th Heaven, Vincent could not rest like Larissa advised him to do. Instead he approaches Larissa and begins to wrap his arms around her soft body in a passionate hug. Larissa did not know what to do at first, but then it dawned on her that she should wrap her arms around him in return. They held each other for quite a long time until Larissa peered into his crimson eyes and saw that he had reached a relaxed state at last.

"Vincent I should have been more specific on the damage it would cause you, especially your mind. But I am still impressed; usually people cannot handle the stress level of it and go insane in a few hours or a day, depending on how it has affected them."

Vincent just stood in silence in front of Larissa while trying to organize all of his thoughts back together. When he looked at her again he noticed that she looked back with a worried expression that he had never seen before. The way Larissa looked reminded him why he enjoyed her company so much. Besides Lucrecia he had forgotten what it was like to love someone completely no matter where they came from or what they were. Vincent also noticed how much he has changed emotionally as well as mentally. He smiles more often than he used to and interacts with the children as much as he can while not delivering for Tifa. It seems that the emptiness left by his tragic love for Lucrecia has finally been filled.

A true reassuring smile appears across Vincent's cold lips as he says, "Sorry Larissa I had to put my mind back in order. I am fine now, please do not worry anymore."

The smile that Vincent had longed to see showed brilliantly on Larissa's face as she replies, "Well I am glad to hear it. Next time I will be with you and we can start doing the technique at the edge of Midgar. That way the thoughts of others will not overwhelm you, they will be very faint sounds. As you progress we will move further and further into the city."

Nodding his head in agreement a sudden light knock could be heard from the old wooden door. Turning around to glance at the door Larissa quickly says, "Come in, the door is open." It seemed to take a life time before the door was completely opened to reveal Cloud on the other side. When Cloud viewed the room to see what was going on he noticed that everything seemed to be under control.

"Hey Vincent are you okay? I was really getting worried for a second there."

"Yes I am all right now Cloud, thanks," says Vincent while studying Cloud's features and notices the hint of worry he spoke of only moments before.

"If you don't mind Vincent," says Cloud. "Yuffie is still downstairs in a hysterical state. She would come up here herself, but she is too afraid of what kind of condition you are in. Either that or she just wants to see you move around. Will you go and comfort her because we have tried everything we could down there and Barrett is about to lose it."

Walking passed Larissa with a deep sigh he heads out the door where Cloud was to the panicking Yuffie downstairs.

Alone in the room at last Cloud walks in front of Larissa to study her features to see if he can find an answer to what has happened. He found none. Larissa stared back at him for a few minutes before looking away to the window.

"Larissa can I ask you a question even though it might be personal?"

Turning away from the window slowly Larissa answers, "Why sure Cloud. I will tell you the truth the best way that I can."

Taking a deep breath Cloud bursts out, "Larissa are you in love with Vincent? Are you two a secret couple? I know everyone says these rumors, but lately I can't help but wonder if you two really are or not. All the time you spend with each other and then there is this whole silent intense conversation you have together. I just want a straight answer."

Larissa did not answer right away because she was shocked by Cloud's stressed expression. It looked like he was preparing himself for a massive blow that would come at any given moment.

Collecting her thoughts she replies, "No Cloud we are not a couple. I know we spend much of our time together when we are not with the children or doing errands. I view Vincent and me as a deep connected friendship that will never break no matter what the circumstances. Does it bother you that Vincent and I are together most of the time?"

Cloud's eyes widened a little at this sudden question that he was not expecting from her. Quickly he says, "No Larissa it does not bother me at all. I am glad Vincent has someone to make him feel happy since he has been in a slump for a while."

Before Cloud left the room Larissa could not help but read his thoughts as he strolled toward the door.

In his mind this is what Larissa heard, _"It does bother me a great deal why she spends time with Vincent so much. Even though they are not a couple I still want to spend time with her too. I know Vincent is not being selfish, but I do envy the way he is able to reach out to certain people." _

This is all Larissa was able to hear because Cloud left the room and could be heard going down the stairs and out the door. Larissa realized in that very instant that she would have to pay a little more attention to Cloud as well as the rest of the group. The children she gave her time willingly with Tifa, Barrett, Nanaki, and sometimes Yuffie. Shelke she would visit at the lab when she had the chance and if Cait Sith and Reeves were not too busy she would spend the afternoon with them. Vincent was always around so he was taken care of and as for Cid he is constantly going to Rocket Town to see how is new recruiters are doing.

Cloud was the only person she had not spent a whole day with. Tomorrow she decided to dedicate her day to him and to know him for who he is. As she checked outside the window she could see that dusk was approaching. Going downstairs hastily she arrived right on time for dinner.

After they ate she immediately went to sleep like the rest of the group after helping Cloud put the kids to bed. She could not wait for the new day to start because she would have her blue prints almost done for the new houses to be built for Gaia and to truly meet Cloud like she should have done from the beginning.


	9. The Kalm Festival

**It seems that each time I do a new chapter for this story it gets longer and longer. I just wanted to pay special thanks to Chaxra-san for reviewing my story. If anyone else would like to speak their minds about it feel free to do so. I am always open to new ideas and suggestions. **

The next day Larissa was sitting at one of the tables facing the window while Vincent occupied the seat beside her. They were both looking at Larissa's blueprints for Gaia and how the new look would be up to date, yet still have a cozy feeling of home. Tifa was at the bar as usual, taking orders from the customers that wanted an early breakfast. Nanaki stayed outside to enjoy the cool breeze of autumn coming while observing the people passing by.

In a matter of seconds Yuffie rushes in saying, "Good Morning Everyone! I just love this cool weather outside for a change, but it looks like I will need to go shopping for new pants. I don't know where I put my spare winter clothes. I must have left them on Cid's airship when we went skiing last year."

Tifa just laughs while Shelke enters quietly looking for Vincent and Larissa. Once she spots them she sits across from Larissa, close to the window so she can look outside. Too bad Reeves could not make it in to breakfast this morning, but he sent Cait Sith to retrieve their meal from Tifa, waving hello and goodbye to everyone as he went out the door.

The last person to make it in was Cloud, who seemed to be exhausted from lack of sleep. When Tifa spotted him dragging his feet inside the doorway she immediately rushed to his aid. Larissa saw the sudden rush of Tifa out of the corner of her eye and turned to see what the problem was. She gasped lightly at Cloud's appearance as she rose from her chair to help Tifa lead him to another chair across the room.

Vincent also looked in their direction and felt a wave of concern for Cloud. Ever since they helped each other through their problems of the past they have become good friends. Seeing him in such a state only told him that Sephiroth or his past was haunting him in his dreams again.

"Cloud what is wrong? I am sorry to say this but you look awful," says Tifa with a hint of worry in her voice.

Larissa just stared into his eyes to see if she could find the solution to the problem at hand. Sadly all she could find was nothing; it seems he has cleared his mind of the incident completely. When Cloud looked from Tifa to Larissa and saw how puzzled Larissa looked he had to find the strength to reassure them somehow.

"I'm fine Tifa. I just had a rough night, sleeping wise. Larissa you don't have to worry about me either. I will take a nap or something today or go to bed early tonight. Really Tifa you can stop looking at me like that, everything is ok."

Tifa's expression went from a little worried to a faint sense of panic. She had never seen him this way in a long time. Whenever this happens it usually leads to trouble to where he conceals his emotions and hides from everyone. Larissa could feel the sense of danger too in what this might mean. She had done her homework on the files of Cloud to see his connection with Sephiroth and Shinra. Vincent told her what his purpose was to them very openly, he did not want to hide anything from Larissa. He thought he did not have to since they were so close.

Before Larissa could ask him any questions Marlene and Denzel came running in the diner to find someone of the group. They seemed to have good news for Marlene had a broad smile on her face while Denzel waved a flier in front of Tifa that was in his hand.

"Look what I found Tifa! It's a flier for the Kalm Festival this Friday. Can we all go to it, please?" begged Denzel. Marlene on Denzel's other side pleads, "We would have so much fun and Larissa has never been to one before. All of us could show her everything from games to the fancy contests they have every year." Denzel chides in, "Marlene has a point. What do you think Larissa, do you want to go? Please say yes."

When Larissa looked into the young faces of Marlene and Denzel how could she refuse. The pitiful faces they gave her could melt anyone's heart. "Sure I would love to go", says Larissa, "In fact we should all have some fun, with all the business we have been attending to. Friday sounds like a perfect day to forget about your troubles anyway."

The children cheered with glee at Larissa's response and then turned to Tifa for her approval. Tifa could not help but give in too. She thought that maybe the festival would cheer Cloud up as well as having a mini vacation from the diner.

"Alright you two, you win. I think the Kalm Festival is a great idea to spend time together. What does everyone else think?"

Everyone in the diner nodded their heads in agreement at the request of Marlene and Denzel, who ran around the tables in excitement. Larissa could not help her soft laughter from leaking out as she watched the children play. Cloud looked swiftly in her direction and found a sense of peace flowing from that laughter. Tifa glanced at Cloud in amazement at his fast recovery from the exhaustion he was under.

"Some one needs to notify Cid of what we are doing this Friday. He will not be very happy if we leave him behind. We might be able to get Reeves and Cait Sith if possible," says Nanaki as he walks into the diner for the first time this morning.

Everyone turned to him at the suggestion as he walked to the chair next to Cloud and hopped onto the stuffed cushion to survey the room, tucking his tail to his side in the process. Vincent rises to the middle of the room and says quietly, "I will go find Reeves and Cait Sith and tell them of our plans to the Kalm Festival. I am sure they will want to join us."

"That's excellent Vincent and I expect Cid to be back by Wednesday of this week. We can tell him then or who would like to call him?" Nanaki looked around the room for volunteers until Larissa pipes up, "I will call Cid to tell him of our event this Friday. I have always wanted to hear his reaction of me calling him for something."

"Well it's settled then," says Yuffie, "I can't wait until we go. I am going on every ride they have and do most of the games and contests. It's going to be a blast!"

Once this matter was settled Vincent nodded in Larissa's direction and left on his task. Everyone else departed to their jobs while Larissa went upstairs to call Cid. Before she left she turned to Cloud and requested, "Cloud would you like to spend the day with me or if I could spend the day with you? You don't have to accept if you are busy today, it was just an offer."

Cloud answered quickly, a little too quickly, "Sure Larissa, I would really like that. I will wait outside until you are finished talking to Cid."

Larissa's eyes light up in response to Cloud's answer, which took him by surprise yet again. As she ran up the stairs to her room that she still shared with Vincent, Larissa opens up her cell phone and dials Cid's number. She was bouncing on the tip of her toes as the phone rang, waiting for Cid to answer.

In Rocket Town where Cid is at this point, he feels the vibration of his phone and angrily takes it out of his pocket. When he reads the caller id he nearly drops it, not know why Larissa of all people would be calling him.

"_So she has finally come to her senses. I knew she had some interest in me, but this sure is unexpected. I bet Vincent and Cloud are being mean to her and she wants me to save the day," _Cid thought. _"I can see it all now…" _

CID'S DAYDREAM

"Oh Cid thank God you're here! Vincent all of a sudden became real cold toward me and kicked me out of the room. Not only that but Cloud tried to take advantage of me! Can you believe it?!"

Larissa by this time is running to Cid's open arms and is embracing him deeply.

"Cid lets just go into your airship and fly far away from here. I should have listened to you in the first place, will you ever forgive me?"

Cid slowly strokes Larissa's pure gold brown hair while caressing her body gently as he replies, "I do forgive you Larissa for being so foolish to doubt my true intentions. The airship is right outside, come lets go."

Once they board the airship Cid takes Larissa in his arms and kisses her passionately as they take off into the deep blue sky.

END OF CID'S DAYDREAM

The thing that snapped him back to reality was one of his new recruiters saying, "Sorry to interrupt Mr. Highwind, but I do believe your cell phone is vibrating."

Blinking his eyes to check his reflexes he looks down at his phone again and opens it up quickly to answer Larissa's call.

"Hello Larissa, what can I do for you?" asks Cid in a cheerful voice.

"Hey Cid, I just wanted to tell you that all of us want to go to the Kalm Festival this Friday. If you're not too busy we thought you would like to join us," says Larissa gaily.

"Sure that sounds like fun. I would love to join you guys since you can't do without me." They both laughed heartedly over the phone as one of the recruiters yells up to Cid, "Sir! One of the pipes just busted on the Tiny Bronco. What do you want us to do?"

"Shit!! Sorry Larissa I will have to let you go, but I will be back in Midgar on Wednesday so we can discuss what we can do about the festival. Later," says Cid angrily.

After hanging up her cell phone Larissa walks back down the stairs to find Cloud right outside like he said he would be. An inaudible sigh of pleasure came from Cloud as he watched intently at Larissa gliding down the stairs to meet him at the front door. When both of them said goodbye to everyone in the diner they walked slowly into the crowded streets of Midgar

Cloud and Larissa walked and talked together all day long, laughing in harmony to the city's rhythm of people working and just being alive. She had never had this much fun in a long time because the time she spent with Vincent was a deeper quality of understanding.

Since that day, the rest of the week went by in a blink of an eye. Everyone at this time was in Tifa's diner all ready to go to the Kalm Festival. Outside you could see all the people gathering around the shuttle going to the festival since they did not have any other kind of transportation. The gang decided to use Cid's airship, even though Kalm was not very far away. It was just an excuse to be up in the sky with the stars.

When everyone boarded the airship Cid introduced all his new crew to everyone else. The new young crew members seemed to like Tifa the most until they saw Larissa floating toward them with a beautiful smile. Their eyes went wide at her appearance, jaws hanging low unconsciously. The crew finally reassembled when Yuffie came forward with a sly grin, hinting that she knew what they were thinking.

"Alright you lazy lot stop staring at Larissa, Tifa, and Yuffie. Haven't you guys ever seen women before? Anyways are destination is Kalm. We are all going to the festival they have down there, so all of you get a night off," commands Cid as he takes hold of the wheel.

An exultant cheer could be heard from the crew since this was their first real break in about 3 months. Larissa at this time took a position at one of the enormous leaded glass windows overlooking the earth vanishing from her body below. Cloud decided to stand beside Larissa and look at the scenery together. Tifa chatted with Yuffie in a low corner while Vincent talked to Reeves about his work. Barrett was with Marlene and Denzel to keep them entertained, but it was not working as well as he hoped it would. Shelke sat by Nanaki and his kids, whispering to each other about small events of little importance. Of course Cait Sith was with them too, sitting with Reeves to fill in the gaps of the story he was telling to Vincent. Once they arrived at the festival everyone went wild with enthusiasm.

"Ok I am taking Larissa to every ride here," cries Yuffie.

"Now wait a damn minute Yuffie, you can't hog her all night long. Some of us want to spend time with her too," comments Cid.

"Do we need to make a schedule for this kind of thing? I think we can handle it, but you never know," Nanaki says discretely.

"That's a stupid idea to make a schedule. All you have to do is take her with you first and that will be the end of it," says Barrett nonchalantly.

"Ok no one is going to grab me like I am some sort of prize. I am human and I would like to be treated like one. Why don't we all go together as a group? If we get separated by whatever unknown event, we can always use our cells to contact each other."

The gang turned around toward Larissa with apologetic faces and agreed that her plan was the best. Walking through the colorful string of the concession stands the children ran toward the fake tattoo parlor to have their faces painted first. Marlene decided to have a purple butterfly on her right cheek and a pink M on her left one. Denzel had his letter D in a deep royal blue on his left cheek too with a silver dragon on his right.

Along the way Yuffie spotted the rollercoaster she had been longing to ride on this whole week. It was called the Howler because of all the high pitched screams that could be heard for miles from the young carefree people of the world. Looking at her surroundings Larissa saw children of many ages running around with sparklers in their hands, laughing while the sparks continued to glow like diamonds. As for the adults around the area you could see their smiles illuminating the already well lit streets. Couples were everywhere holding hands, kissing each other occasionally, and enjoying themselves in who knows how long.

What caught Larissa's eye the most was the men in sleek black suits on every corner of Kalm for security purposes, which seemed to her as a false front to conceal their real reasons for being here. The way they glared at her through their blinding sunglasses made her think they were waiting for her all this time, but would not dare approach for fear of drawing attention to themselves. A cowardly act such as this filled Larissa with contempt for that race of men.

What brought her back to the exhilarating atmosphere of amusement was Vincent's chilling bronze claw that settled absently on her right shoulder. Turning to face him she saw a blank expression that slightly took her by surprise, her words lost for a moment in his liquid crimson eyes.

The stare down that seemed to last for a full minute was really a few seconds before Larissa says eagerly, "Well shall we get started?"

Many of them did split up in the end to their own groups, but would meet each other somewhere else along the way. Vincent seemed to be more defensive than usual when it came to Larissa. He would not let her wonder on her own without him by her side. It occurred to him too after Larissa spotted them that the mysterious men were the new Turks on duty for the first time. The clean cut of their style and manner disturbed Vincent, as if they could get away with anything such as murder, just like the old days. With that in mind they looked at everything together. Usually this sort of event would be torture to Vincent because the solitude of his room is what he enjoys most, but tonight he was going to be human again.

On Kalm Avenue Vincent saw a table full of bracelets and other kinds of unusual jewelry that could be engraved. Since he was here he wanted to give something to Larissa to remember him by and this night they are spending together. Since Larissa was with Yuffie riding some rollercoaster on the outskirts of town Vincent had the perfect opportunity to buy her something of value.

"Well hello sir, what can I get you tonight? We are having a special sale on our engraved jewelry. I bet you know someone that you hold close to your heart that would love a gift from you," says the salesman encouragingly.

Vincent continued to browse the delicate table neatly decorated with many colors and styles of jewelry. Among the styles there were rings, bracelets, necklaces, toe rings, and earrings just to name a few. Immediately he found what he wanted to say to Larissa by purchasing a black metallic bracelet with a hint of red needled through the cracks of the engraved design. On the top of the bracelet he engraved the symbol of the Cerberus that was on his pendant hanging from his Death Penalty. Inside he wrote her name with the saying, "My Light" to signify how much he needed her company to survive his darkest hours. After paying for the gift he drifted away to meet Reeves looking at Chinese ornaments meant to hang in your home.

On the other side of Kalm Larissa was finally alone for a change. She had spent her time with almost everyone that came along. Leaning against a slender iron gate that was a contrast to her glowing skin in the festival lights, she observed the humans and envied their status of being free of destruction. In the deep shadows of Kalm's alleyways Reno and Rude spied on Larissa to make sure she was alone. Stealthily like phantoms they zoned in on her, breaking her trail of thought to transform into a field of hatred and loathing.

"You know how difficult it is to track you down by yourself? We have been tailing you for about 2 hours or so. At least our efforts have finally paid off," boasts Reno as if he was the clever one in this conversation.

Rude stood silently like a heartless statue beside Reno's thinning body and blazing red hair. The only movement Larissa saw was him handing Reno a clean white card with the Shrina seal on the back of it. Watching the transaction she stared at Reno's hands a little too long than what was necessary. His fingers were in immaculate condition that made his whole hand seem beautiful. If he was not involved in the Turks at all he would be an irresistible man because of the way he carried himself. As for Rude, he was an average looking man who did not have any social skills to share. His posture was hostel to any living creature and he did not seem to care what others thought of him at this point of his life.

'What do you wish to speak to me about Reno?' inquires Larissa coldly, not acknowledging Rude's presence at all.

"We came all this way, Rude and I, to tell you that President Rufus would like to meet you. He has a proposition for you that you can not ignore. Here is his card to find the location of the new Shrina headquarters. We will be waiting for you there." Reno's eager smile only told Larissa to not accept the invitation to see Rufus at all, but knew in the back of her mind that she would be going anyway.

Larissa slowly reaches out for the card in Reno's hand; trying not to touch his fingers for fear that they might leave a mark on her skin. Before she could clasp her paper white elegant hand onto the item Reno grips her arm and pulls her toward his stiff linear body. Taking her in a strong embrace of torture Reno kisses Larissa forcefully on her plush lips, making her wiggle in aggravation in his stainless steel arms under his sleek black suit.

In order for Larissa to escape the twisted emotion of revulsion and pleasure she uses her spirit energy to heat up her body. By this action, Reno was scorched severely from his hands all the way up his surprisingly masculine arms.

Pulling away from her abruptly he says, "Wow that sure was a kiss I will never forget. I can see that you do not trust the Turks, but I thought a reassurance like a kiss would help. Still these burns were worth the pleasure I had with you for a short time. I hope to see you sometime next week. Bye."

Looking at their departure in bewilderment Vincent materializes to her side looking after Reno and Rude with disgust. Seeing the thick, white, golden card clutched in Larissa's hand made him turn his full body to her in question. Matching his gaze with the language of her eyes she said it was nothing and to not be concerned with it. Knowing that that was all the answer he was going to get from her, he reaches down into his pants pocket and reveals the bracelet he bought her.

The shine of it in the moonlight caught her attention in an instant. Turning swiftly toward him Larissa saw the gift he had in his normal leathered hand. A low gasp escapes her lips has she asks, "Vincent is that bracelet for me?"

He nods gently in her direction with a hint of a smile in his eyes to her reaction. She casts a brief look at the bracelet to see the symbol that she has learned to love so well on the top of it. Walking forward Vincent takes her right arm tenderly in his hand and attaches the bracelet on for her. Larissa raises it to the lights of the festival to see it glow with mystic beauty found no where else on this earth. When she felt it on her soft skin she noticed that something was engraved underneath it as well. Her delicate left hand lifted the bracelet to read the message that Vincent had left to her in flattered astonishment.

'Vincent, whispers Larissa, is this what you truly think of me? That I am your light?'

Vincent could not help himself to hold her close to his powerful body like he did a few days before. This always gave him pleasure to have someone who cared about him long enough to stay with him no matter what the consequences of their actions may be. Enjoying the sudden gesture she caressed his body in return, still looking fondly at her new bracelet.

Walking along another street of Kalm they finally met up with Cloud, Tifa, and the children playing one of the mini games in the stands.

"Hey you guys can we join you? It appears that you are having way too much fun over there," shouts Larissa over to them across the way.

The children jumped for joy at seeing Larissa and Vincent in the distance, coming toward them through the multiplying crowd. Once they arrived they continued to do everything else together for the night. Before the fair was over all the crew met at the big Ferris wheel in the middle of Kalm that seated at least four people at a time. Like young children themselves they all dashed to the ride, delight shining in different shades of their eyes.

The people that occupied the first seat were Larissa, Vincent, Cloud, and Tifa. Marlene and Denzel wanted to ride with Nanaki and his kids, so that is who took up the second seat. Cid, Barrett, Yuffie, and Reeves with Cait Sith took the third seat while other couples took up the other vacant ones beside them.

"All right everyone, buckle up! This is going to be the thrill of your lifetime," yells the manager of the ride to the passengers above.

When everyone was ready he slammed down the lever that made the Ferris wheel come to life, causing all the young girls to scream with fright. It finally moved away from the earth in a swift motion, as if the wind was pushing it to go around and around in circles. Once the crew reached the top of the Ferris wheel it abruptly came to a stop.

One of the couples below them shrieked with amazement when they said, "Look up in the sky! Isn't it just romantic how they can create such a magnificent light show?"

Larissa's eyes immediately took to the sky and witnessed what the people were talking about. Spectacular lights of all colors lit the sky in dazzling designs of shooting stars, confetti, and for the girls' hearts. She had never been more at peace in her life with her new friends, who did not use her as a tool for once. Smiling at all of them she finally gained back an emotion that she thought she had lost forever. That emotion was pure happiness to be alive instead of anguish that seemed to replace it so often in her past.

It seemed like the experience was short lived because in a matter of seconds everyone was back on the ground, leaving the festival to go to their homes. Tifa was carrying Denzel at this time while Barrett had Marlene tucked safely in his arms, both fast asleep. Once on the airship Cloud went up to Larissa and gave her a small velvet box.

'What is this Cloud?' questions Larissa as she deliberately opens the box to find a flawless ring of cool gray with an engraving of a wolf's head around the smooth edges. Inside the ring Cloud too left a message to Larissa, which said, "My Strength" with her name by it also.

"Cloud I have no idea what to say, I am speechless. The only thing I can think of is to say that I love it. I will wear it always."

Cloud smiled in delight that his gift actually meant that much to her. When he glanced at her profile he noticed that Vincent had given something to her too. The bracelet with the Cerberus symbol on it was a dead giveaway. He was happy that Vincent could give something to her too, knowing that he cared for her as much as he did.

On the fly home Cloud, Larissa, and Vincent all sat in a corner looking at the fireworks of Kalm as it faded away into the engulfing darkness below.


	10. Shinra's Dirty Work in Need of Help

Many days went by after the Kalm Festival while Larissa debated whether or not she should visit Rufus to see what he wanted with her. Sitting idly in one of 7th Heaven's cozy, worn, black booths she continues to take Shinra's card that she received from Reno slide through her fingers, feeling hatred grow within her more and more each time. Nanaki notices this behavior and decides to mosey on over to see what is troubling her so early in the morning.

Cloud became worried about Larissa since he has noticed that she has not been sleeping well at night by the dark grey circles under her eyes. This made him not want to sleep either, I guess Tifa's old habits are wearing on him a little bit too much these days. But that was not the only reason why his lack of sleep dragged on. His dreams have become very unpleasant by flickers of Sephiroth coming to disturb his mind at ease.

Vincent had a feeling that Larissa's lack of sleep was caused by Reno and Rude of the Turks that night at the festival. Something was said between them that is eating away at her mind, yet Vincent did not have the courage to confront her about it. He knew if the concept were important she would tell him when she was ready. For now he would have to wait and the waiting evolved into his new torture of curiosity.

Upon Nanaki's arrival at Larissa's table she smiled in an exhausted greeting to invite him to sit with her. His expression consisted of concern, a concern only a father would have for one of his children.

"Larissa," Nanaki says gently, "I seem to have noticed that your sleeping patterns have become irregular these past few days. Is there anything that you wish to talk about? I would be glad to aid and listen to you in any way possible."

Her hand closed tightly around the card as she answers wearily, "I wish I could tell you Nanaki, but this is a decision I have to make on my own. I do not need you to worry about me since this will not continue any longer. I have finally come to a conclusion of what to do. It will be done today, right now. Excuse me Nanaki."

The swiftness of Larissa's frail body caught Nanaki off guard because of the sudden edge that appeared in her every step. Vincent was going to talk to her this morning, but was too late by the time he arrived downstairs. He watched her drown into the crowd of Midgar and out of site.

Approaching Nanaki Vincent asks quietly, "Where is she going?" Nanaki could only look into his eyes with uncertainty before replying, "I have no idea, she never told me. She only said that she has to take care of something today. I would wait until she comes back; let her have some space and privacy."

"_Well I guess following her is out of the question," _thought Vincent. _"I guess I will have to wait even longer, this pain I feel when she is struggling disturbs me. Maybe she will rest easier tonight when she comes back." _

In the streets of Midgar Larissa observed all the neon signs of businesses that looked much better at night. People in general have always been her study for years to be able to blend in among them. Isolation was brutal in a green filled tank, watching other supposed scientists run tests on her or just to stare in awe at Hojo's latest creation. Larissa did not fully understand why these memories were coming back to her now of all times. Maybe it was because of what Rufus wanted that made her remember the ugly events that were her whole life.

Glancing at the society of Midgar made her long to be human. Who would want to be a puppet made to destroy the world that has a purpose? Certainly not Larissa and she dreaded every step that led her closer to Shinra's new headquarters near the medical clinic. As Larissa passed by some teenage girls she witnessed them giving her an envious look, obviously they were eyeing the bracelet and ring that she had received from Vincent and Cloud.

Young giddy girls seemed to fall for any older man in their rage of vision, but here lately Vincent and Cloud are the only men they cannot stop talking about. In a mysterious way this pleased Larissa that she was envied by all the girls who did not have a chance to be near such precious men.

Rushing along the line of traffic she recognized the Shinra building only a few miles away with its navy blue pillars towering over Midgar like rays of doom. Approaching the murky gray building she noticed how much she dreaded to open the door to see President Rufus, and the Turks running around scheming to bend helpless victims to their every whim. Now seeing the clinic next door to the new Shinra headquarters made Larissa wonder who they were trying to fool, certainly not the public who should know better not to trust them anymore.

The clinic seemed out of place by Shinra, like they were there to heal the wounded and to protect when in reality they are ruthless humans who feed on other people's fear. Cautiously walking toward the door of the deadly structure she was welcomed warmly by Reno, the last man she ever wanted to see at this moment.

"Welcome Larissa," said Reno. "President Rufus has been expecting you all week and so have I. Please follow me to his office; it's on the 5th floor. Right this way, watch your step."

His formality irked Larissa and warned her to stay away from him as much as possible while in the crammed, chrome elevator. The silent dings of the dial telling them what floor they were on made Larissa's body cringe at how slow the elevator was going when it was only the illusion that time was creeping by.

When Reno and Larissa reached the 5th floor, Reno tried to put his arm around her delicate shoulders to guide her to President Rufus's office. Instead Larissa threw his hand off her powerful body and walked casually toward the modern, paneled door where Rufus sat at his desk on the other side.

'Do not tell me that _you_ have to accompany me to see Rufus?' inquires Larissa while looking at Reno with total disgust.

"Why yes Larissa I have to. You see it is my job to make sure that I delivered you to President Rufus safely, without any complications I might add." The smile he gave to her was very gentle like he was being sincere and meant it. This gesture made Larissa groan quietly to herself as she knocked on Rufus's door quite loudly, anything to escape Reno's act of generosity.

The mahogany door swung open quickly, revealing a slender man in his mid 30's with lavish dull gold hair that was combed neatly back to not hide his small oval shaped face. The eyes were a transparent light blue like the bottom of a clear lake, but the black hole that was his pupil ruined the image of that lake and brought you back to the part that the eyes are in a human. The clothes he wore were casual for any occasion. They were a pair of khaki slacks and a white, neatly pressed, button down shirt with short sleeves.

Larissa did not feel threatened by his presence or the fact that he had called her here to discuss some dirty work that needed to be covered up well. Something the Turks were not able to do, the main reason why Larissa came to see how horrible the disaster might be.

"Hello Larissa. I see that you have made it here without any trouble. Reno, you and Rude will guard the door outside so as to not let anyone disturb us. I would like to talk to her privately," says Rufus.

The tone of his voice was low and expressionless. It seemed to Larissa that he had been trapped in this building too long and did not know how to function around people anymore. The executive attire was supposed to be attractive, but Rufus was the only man she knew who could make it ugly. Gazing at his features she realized how much Shinra itself had torn this brilliant man to pieces and left nothing behind expect a hollow corpse.

The meeting was slightly delayed due to Reno's whining protests to stay inside Rufus's office until Rude grabbed his arm forcefully and dragged him outside, shutting the door quietly. Waving his slender hand toward a slick modern chair for Larissa to sit in, Rufus repositions his body to sit on the edge of his black leather recliner so as to talk to her more formally.

"I am delighted that you came to see me Larissa. This is the first time I have seen you in person and I must say you are quite a lovely woman. I bet men can't keep their eyes or hands off of you." The way Rufus said it was intended to be a complement, but Larissa knew that he was just buying time for the inevitable.

'What do you want?' questions Larissa icily. She wanted to get down to business and escape this horrid building and hopefully to never have to come back. Rufus was now facing the leaded glass window of his office, examining Midgar while gathering his thoughts together.

"All right fine, you called my bluff. I should have known you would know that we need you for something. Honest chitchat nowadays always comes with a favor or price. I do have to admit that I admire your way of handling business. Would you like to become a Turk? This is not the task I asked you for originally, but I just had to throw it out there."

With a mocking smile Larissa replies, "Why would you ask such a question of me? You know how much I loathe your so called employees. Now stop straying from your point of calling me here. I do have other things to do today and at this moment you are wasting my precious time."

Rufus whirled on her a little too quickly for he stared into her bright eyes of light brown with a hint of small gold threads weaving in and out. He even thought he saw a cool gray close to silver in her eyes as well, but dismissed it completely. There was no way such colors could be in mixed in someone's eyes, could it?

"Fine, have it your way then. I called you here because there seems to be a disturbance in Nibelheim. Apparently the public is in frenzy due to seeing some kind of spirit roaming around the town possessing bodies, or so they claim. I want you to investigate this matter for me and don't worry; we will pay you a huge sum for your trouble."

Pulling herself together from the shock Larissa raises to her feet and starts pacing the room. Rufus continued to observe her abrupt behavior until Larissa turned to him and asked, "Do you know what kind of form these spirits take before entering a person's body?"

"Sadly I do not know because the people are too frightened to give me a direct answer. As you well know this is not a job the Turks can handle. That's why I need you and your ability to stop them from terrorizing the town. I can feel that you have some kind of energy that is not of this area, it would be ignorant to overlook it. Will you help us?"

Hesitant to answer Rufus too quickly a knock came from the door rather loudly; it seems that the visitor could not wait because you could here Reno and Rude trying to hold him off from intruding. The man forcing his way in was none other than Reeves with a fresh report in his hand. Observing the room Reeves dark brown eyes stopped surprisingly on Larissa, his face filling up with a curious expression.

"Um President Rufus here are the new reports of Nibelheim's condition. There seems to be another disturbance, but this time one of the townspeople said they saw the figure of Sephiroth roaming the streets heading toward the Shinra Mansion. Just hearing Sephiroth being present makes me shudder. What would you like us to do?"

Rufus read the report hastily and flung it onto his desk, not taking his clear eyes away from Larissa as he responded to Reeves, "I have kindly asked Larissa to come visit me on this matter. I believe she can eliminate them easily, all I am waiting for now is her answer."

Reeves eyes widened at Larissa's determined stare and knew what the answer would be before she spoke. "Since this kind of dirty work leads to protecting people I will help you, but under one condition. I want Reeves to accompany me; he will fill me in on the situation. Is that clear?"

"Any way you wish Larissa," says Rufus, "We will be tagging along as well. I would like to see what you can do. The smile he gave to her was actually gentle and serene which broke up his rigid features, revealing a decent man under the Shinra corporation position.

"I would love to come with you Larissa. We might as well start going to Nibelheim now, don't you think so President Rufus?"

"Yes Reeves that sounds like a wonderful idea. Will you escort Larissa down to the black car in the garage? I need to gather everyone who is coming with us, excuse me."

His swift movements reminded Larissa of a leopard on a mission as he walked out the door, signaling Reno and Rude to follow him in the process. Now that Reeves and Larissa were alone she let out deep sigh of despair at what she would have to do in Nibelheim today.

Pacing the room himself Reeves inquires calmly, "Larissa do you think it is wise for you to venture where Sephiroth is? I am a little worried for your safety since there is no way we can protect you from his clutches."

"I will be just fine Reeves," says Larissa reassuringly, "I am more concerned on how your people will be protected from him, but have no fear. I will take care of everything. By the way Reeves can you do me a favor? I would like this mission to be between us if that's ok with you. I do not want to draw unwanted attention from the others." Reeves understood completely when he held her glance of concern for everyone back in 7th Heaven. He knew Vincent and especially Cloud would not like her request to face Sephiroth alone right now, but they had no other choice. "I will keep it a secret for you Larissa, you can count on me."

Extending his arm out to Larissa, Reeves led her out of Rufus's office and down the elevator to the basement of the rotting building. There they found a black BMW waiting for them to hop in. Once inside the car they drove out of Midgar and headed to Nibelheim. While looking out the window Larissa could not help the cold sweat that escaped from her palms, with Reeves persistent observing eyes watching her every move in his black leather seat.

Upon arriving at the gate Reeves ran out of the car and went to the left side to open the door for Larissa to get out. His hand took hers and he lifted her body gracefully out of the soft leather seat to the cobblestone pavement, taking her breath away only for an instant. Sometimes Larissa could not help but be a little taken with Reeves for his gentlemanly manners and his style of perfection. She felt lucky to have him for a friend, a true friend she could always depend on in desperate times like these.

"Ah you are finally here," booms Rufus from across the threshold of Nibelheim, "Come this way Larissa and we will talk to the townspeople to see if anything else has gone wrong."

Following obediently behind Rufus, Larissa made sure Reeves did not leave her side just yet. Along the way Reeves filled her in on the crisis of what these spirits have done while she observed the unwelcoming vacant town. The memories she had of this place came flooding back to her as she witnessed the old ruins of the Shinra Mansion in the back of the town. Vines clung to the walls hungrily, trying to absorb the crumbling red brick that has faded of old age. The ebony iron gate seemed to suffer from the sinking earth that looked like quicksand as it surrounded the mansion.

By the hollow Inn, Larissa noticed Rufus talking rapidly to one of the frightened men of the town since the women were too speechless to say anything. Walking briskly toward us Rufus reports, "The man just said that the spirits have gone away to the Shinra Mansion and have not come back since last night. Still the townspeople are worried that they will come back to harm them. More than 6 people have already died, making them become helpless and desperate for any aid from us."

Nodding her head in understanding Larissa responds, "Ok I have a plan. Rufus, you and your Turks stay outside and protect Nibelheim as best as you can. I will go in the mansion alone and eliminate all the spirits or demons. Reeves, you are staying outside with your WRO group as well. I will be on my guard at all times, so do not worry yourself to death over me."

Reeves was surprised to know that Larissa knew exactly what he was thinking and said, "As you wish Larissa." Rufus inclined his head toward her for his answer of approval, staring into her eyes of bright orange this time.

Larissa inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly as she walked past Rufus and Reeves to Shrina Mansion that stood to the northwest of town all by itself. As she came closer the overgrowth was very crucial to the once magnificent mansion at least 10 years ago or more. Drawing her sword Larissa swiped through the vines and walls of grass ruthlessly, eager to put an end to her nightmares of this ghastly place.

Finally reaching the front door that was covered with waves of greenery she noticed that the door was already opened to let her inside without a struggle. Forcing the melancholy door open Larissa saw many demon like spirits floating around the mansion in every shape and size. Upon entering the mansion fully, all the demons stopped abruptly to spot the intruder. When they looked down at Larissa one of the demons that appeared to be half dragon from the waist down and half human from the waist up drew his spear to prepare for battle. 

Ready to strike Larissa beat him to it by sending a huge shock wave of her own spiritual energy into the room, killing everything in site that was on the ground. More horrific demons appeared from every crevice of the ancient house to threaten Larissa if she took another step further. Before the battle began a demon with enormous wings of greasy scales stopped in front of the others to halt them. His head moved like a snake because it was one with red glowing eyes; it was like a basilisk but with distorted wings to help it move around where it wanted to go.

"Stop demons," hissed the demonic creature, "This lady is to report it our Master in the basement. No one harms or touches her or you will all die either from her hand or his. Now clear the way so I can escort this stranger upstairs to the basement door in the bedroom."

Larissa's sword was still drawn as she followed him to the left staircase that led to the door he indicated earlier. Walking up the disintegrating stairs she felt her nerves returning to a state of anxiousness of what has happened to Sephiroth. The door to the basement was still the same brick wall as she remembered it to be. It was always a place were Professor Hojo did his secret work and experiments.

"This is as far as I go, you little wench. The Master is waiting for you impatiently down below. Do not keep him waiting seeing as you are not worth waiting for," spits out the disoriented demon sourly.

"You are right, I am not worth waiting for," answers Larissa tonelessly as she descends the wooden planks to meet Sephiroth in Hojo's old lab, ignoring the astonished creature at the entrance.

Gliding down the stairs she noticed all the familiar purple walls and the bats that still linger on the ceiling. Hojo's lab was only a few feet away from Larissa and the mixed emotions she had earlier suddenly disappeared. It seemed like a veil had been lifted from her slender body to clarify her vision as well as her mind. Waltzing into the decaying room she found him sitting or rather floating on top of Hojo's vacant desk, staring at her with deep satisfaction of her arrival.

"It has been far too long Larissa. I can't believe I have almost forgotten you after all the years we spent together before I went off to SOLDIER. Tell me, how are you?"

His velvety voice filled the little room, a voice she loathed the moment she stepped inside this dreadful mansion. All the memories of how they met came back to her in a wave of nauseating pain. If she could only go back in time and erase those wasted hours of abuse then maybe her life would not have turned out so twisted.

It seemed that Sephiroth could read Larissa's thoughts for he said, "I see you are thinking of the day we first met or some distant memory of that sort. I was just thinking of the same thing while I was scanning the familiar curves of your body that I know so well." That soft smile was stabbing away at Larissa's heart, impelling her to slice his disoriented spirit into many shredded pieces.

"Yes I was thinking of the past which is a foolish habit. Nothing is going to change what went wrong with the world, with us. I came here to negotiate with you about letting the people live in peace in this town. It is already known for having ghosts or being cursed, don't you think the superstitions should end?"

"I guess you are right Larissa. I have played with these humans for long enough for you to come to me. I have been waiting many years for this day to arrive and I do not want to spoil it."

"What is your true purpose of seeing me Sephiroth? If it is my body you want to possess than you are out of luck. I would destroy it myself before it falls into the wrong hands."

"Your body is a precious thing to me and I do want it, but in a different way right now. I will take full ownership of it later; it is too early to take it now. But I do want to show you something Larissa."

Rising from the desk Sephiroth landed perfectly in front of Larissa with a pleasant expression of pure wickedness that filled his Mako eyes of turquoise. She noticed some kind of unknown energy waves coming from his torn soul and realized that he had become whole again.

"What kind of trick is this, you sick twisted bastard?! Maybe you want to die right now. I would be more than happy to do it," says Larissa coldly. Sephiroth comes forward to seize her by the arms when she pulls out her sword to block him. "I do not care what happens, I will kill you. Come at me with everything you have." He stops in his tracks to see Larissa's glowing golden eyes flare with rage. For Sephiroth his reactions were to slow because Larissa swung her sword straight across his chest in a clean sweeping motion. Then she came back in a downward strike that formed a huge even cross on his demented body. Screaming in tormented pain he falls back against the desk, clutching his chest with both hands.

"Ugh, the pain is unbearable, but misery always loves company." Sephiroth tries to strike Larissa with his weapon only to be caught short by her quick movements. Materializing behind him she warms up her hands for an energy blast, but is cut severely by Sephiroth's sword at her wrists. Cursing violently at the blood pouring out of her body, Larissa tries to slice him again while healing her wounds in the process. This battle went on for at least an hour before they basement began to shake. "It seems our combat has caused an earthquake. We will have to finish this later Larissa. Goodbye for now," Sephiroth says hoarsely as he tries to gather himself to disparate. 'Do not run away now you coward! Why not fight me like a man or are you not strong enough?' taunts Larissa menacingly.

Sephiroth just stares at her before he disappears, but he does fire one last attack. It is an energy ball of dark magic that hits Larissa on the left shoulder where her wing is. Howls of pain streaked throughout her whole body as she collapses onto the floor unable to move. "That pain sure does bring back fawn memories doesn't it Larissa?" His laughter echoed in the caving basement as Larissa tries to rise to her feet. Pieces of debris continued to rain on her head, making her body scream even more. Closing her eyes she chants an ancient spell and teleports outside of the Shinra Mansion on her knees.

Reeves sees her appear and immediately rushes to her aid. "Larissa what happened?! Here let me help you…" Reeves could not finish his sentence because a dark void of power engulfed Larissa's body where he could not touch her. Her agony became her strength as the dark void gathered immense power that circled around Larissa. Rufus, Reno, and Rude rush over to see where the source of the earthquake was. When they arrive at Reeves's side they all gasp in panic. Rufus had never seen such power from one human being and was frightened, yet intrigued by what you could do with it. "I think the world is going to end and I still haven't gone on a date with Tifa. This really is not my day," says Reno skeptically.

Rude is too speechless to say anything and Rufus comes forward to examine Larissa closer. Her eyes were changing from gold, to clear silver, to a Mako color, and back again. Her hands slowly rose to her temples as she collected all the energy into her hands. "I wonder where she plans to release all of the deadly energy," says Rufus curiously.

"I hate Shinra and all the pain it has caused me. I wish it would die! In fact I think I will destroy the mansion to let out some frustration," says Larissa while taking the power from her hands and aiming both of them at the rotten mansion that was already falling apart on the back left side. In one swift command she shot the enormous ball of electric energy at the mansion's heart, terminating the whole once glorious house into oblivion. Rufus could not comprehend what had happened until Reno shook his shoulder lightly to get his attention back. When he did blink and saw that the mansion that took almost a year to build was gone in a matter of seconds he blew up.

"Why have you destroyed my most prized home Larissa?! I slaved over that house to make it what it was with my father and you just blew it away out of anger. I will not have this at all!!"

Larissa went back to normal after her little episode that Sephiroth caused with his last attack. When she realized what she had done she smiled the most triumphant smile that no one has ever seen. "What are you going to do about it Rufus? You know you cannot imprison me or harm me for that matter. I would love to hear what kind of plan you have in mind for my punishment of taking away your precious mansion," says Larissa happily.

Rufus knows he is stumped and decides to let it go for now. He will come up with something later, in the meantime he ordered the Turks to tell the townspeople that Nibelheim was safe again and that they would come back to clean up the remainder of the mansion later. Reno and Rude did what they were told while Reeves approaches Larissa cautiously. Her smile brightly lit up the evening sun, showing that she was truly happy of her accomplishment today.

"It is alright now Reeves," says Larissa reassuringly, "The dark energy has left me and I am back to normal. Now let's go home, I want to eat and play with the children for a change."

Reeves only nodded in approval of her idea to go home to the others. Leading her away from the oncoming crowd around the mansion, they went back to the black BMW to leave for Midgar that would take a good two or three hour trip. Rufus noticed them making a quiet escape and ran after them to the car. "Do not think this is over Larissa," says Rufus kindly, "From what I have seen today I am very interested in you and what you can do. We will be contacting you some time in the future, you can count on that." With that he walks away from the car to the public to calm them down.

Starting up the engine with lightening speed the driver reverses the vehicle and starts for the front gates, shaking slightly by Larissa's presence. Reeves gazes at her from time to time, making sure everything was normal. If anything were to go wrong Vincent would tear him apart literally. On the long drive home Larissa closed her eyes to sleep, but was interrupted by the disturbing vague memories of her past in Nibelheim. Whatever they were supposed to be they were not meant to be revealed at this point. This troubled Larissa to an extent of total frustration that she tried to concentrate harder on that one subject, yet nothing came back to her in response.

This seemed to be a task that would take more time than a few minutes to decipher. As for the rest of the ride she made small talk to Reeves about how the WRO were doing and other things. She wanted him to still feel comfortable around her, even though she knew that would take some time too. Rolling through the Wastelands once again they came upon the front steel gates of Midgar that have become a familiarity in Larissa's life.

"I would like to be left off here Reeves if you do not mind. This black BMW is something I think the gang will question. Why not you come with me into 7th Heaven? I am sure they would love to hear from you," says Larissa kindly.

Reeves seemed skittish at first but then gave in to Larissa's request to follow her into the enormous city. He kept telling himself that she was just ill or something of that nature since the thought of her being a product would be absurd. "Ok Larissa, that sounds like an excellent idea to visit them together. Let's stop right here driver." The uneasy driver stopped roughly against the reddish rock that forms most of the Wastelands, making it a wonderful site to behold. "Here you go Reeves. I hope you have a nice day and see you around the office," says the driver as cheerfully as he could.

From the front they both walked casually around the city before making their way back to 7th Heaven. They finally made it back in time for Tifa's exquisite cooking and everyone gave them a warm welcome back. Larissa sat by Shelke this time with Vincent and Cloud sitting on the opposite side of them. Barret and Cid took up the other side of the booth with Reeves and Nanaki while Yuffie squeezed herself between the two children at the dinner table. They all ate heartily and talked for the remainder of the night, knowing nothing about the incident that happened in neither Nibelheim nor will they ever know for the time being.


	11. More of Larissa's Memories Revived

The next morning Larissa did not speak to anyone at all. It seemed her night sleep was unpleasant because she walked past them in a frustrated state of mind as she made her way upstairs to Vincent's room, a place she has called home for the past few months. Vincent immediately looked at Reeves for an explanation, but all he received as a response was a shrug. From the look of things he noticed that Larissa's vibrant skin ceased to glow like something had extinguished it when she strolled past. It seemed Cloud knew what Vincent was thinking because he stood beside him to stare at where Larissa had gone to.

"Reeves," Vincent demanded gruffly, "What is wrong with Larissa? She has never been like this before and I want some answers!"

Yuffie and Tifa jumped at Vincent's sudden aggressiveness toward Larissa's bizarre behavior, for it was very unlike him to show his emotions so freely for someone on the outside of the group. Tifa peered at Cloud to see his reaction and found that he was no longer there. Where could he have gotten to?

Upstairs Cloud stood at Larissa/Vincent's door and knocked gently against the antique frame of it since she had left it open. When he entered he spotted her sitting on the window sill looking at the vast blazing sky that lit the town beautifully. Cloud did not know what he could do for Larissa, but he was not going to let her feel like she was alone. No one should be alone. He tried to approach her quietly, only to be met by the squeaky floor boards with each step he took. Whirling around quickly to see who the intruder was she found herself lost in Cloud's deep blue eyes. They seemed to be trying to tell her something, yet she could not discover what the message meant.

"Larissa," Cloud said calmly as he sat on the opposite side of her on the window sill, "why are you so angry? Did you not sleep well last night?"

"_How could he know that something is wrong with me? Am I that transparent? In any case I can never repeat what I did in Nibelheim yesterday. Sephiroth is becoming a huge problem that is growing out of control. What am I going to do? I'd rather commit suicide right now," _thought Larissa.

"A past you try to forget always seems to come back to haunt your mind. No matter how hard you try to avoid the images, they seem to force their way through anyway. Well I am not worth your time for such impractical emotions as anger or hatred Cloud. The situation is not difficult to explain; it is just in the past and should be kept there for the time being," answers Larissa hollowly.

"_How could she say that emotions are impractical? I want her to open up to me if Vincent doesn't beat me to it. I wonder if I took her into my arms, maybe that will make her feel better," _thought Cloud.

Cloud slowly rises from his position on the window sill to pull Larissa into his warm inviting arms for comfort. When he moved cautiously forward to pull Larissa gently into his arms she instantly sprang up and drew her sword. Almost slicing him to pieces Cloud backs himself against the wall and sees Larissa's eyes blazing with hatred and remorse with her sword pointing at his throat. Realizing what she was doing a second later she lowers the sword to the floor, releasing all of her anger to the outer walls of her body.

"Sorry about that Cloud, I tend to still have that habit of protection. Please do not take it too personally. Just remember to warn me if you are going to touch me in any way," says Larissa indifferently.

"I will definitely remember that next time for sure," says Cloud shakily, "Why are you so hostel toward other people, especially males? I might be able to help you."

"This is something that you will never be able to help me with Cloud, it is not even worth your time. I will always be this way because it is a part of how I grew up. One day I will tell you my story, but that will be when there is no hope left. Your whole group will know about it too when the time is right," she says coldly.

Both staring out the window now, they witness many of the city people going to café shops and restaurants for the early breakfast special, yet seeing how carefree they were made Larissa envy their perfect lives. Down below she could hear Vincent tearing Reeves apart with his colorful vocabulary and menacing hollow threats.

Rising, Larissa heads toward the door, but before leaving she says to Cloud, "It seems that Vincent is going to tear Reeves apart, I guess I better go save him from his wrath. You do not mind checking on Marlene and Denzel do you? I hope they awake by now."

"Not at all Larissa, I would be glad to do that." Studying his profile once more Larissa looked deep into Cloud's eyes and saw the color of Sephiroth's staring right back at her. Disturbed by her new discover she quickly fled the room and almost sprinted down the stairs.

"_How could that be? Cloud's eyes are the same as Sephiroth's in their own way. Was he exposed to Mako Energy too, does he share a connection with him like I do? He could have Jenova cells in him, but that can not be right because he would be acting strange. They could have done that to him at one point though. So many questions that need to be answered," _thought Larissa as she finally made it back into the kitchen just in time to stop Vincent from taking another step toward Reeves to harm him in some way of his own.

"Vincent that is enough of you attacking Reeves about my behavior! He has done nothing wrong and I would appreciate it if you let him go off to bed since it seems he has lost many nights of sleep," fumes Larissa.

Vincent abruptly turns towards Larissa to see that some of her color has returned to her elegant features, a true sign that she is indeed okay. Immediately he abandons Reeves and glides to meet Larissa while reaching out to feel her fair skin in his icy hands. But it seems she was a step ahead of him for Larissa already had her hand against Vincent's moist cheek of cold sweat to calm him. An intense storm seemed to be lifted at that very moment because Vincent relaxed instantly while Reeves went off to sleep for a few hours. No one could explain this radical behavior of them all, but chose to accept it anyway. Not everything can be answered, at least not in this day in time.

In the same day it looked like a fierce thunderstorm was heading over Midgar with quick haste. Tifa had to entertain Marlene and Denzel with Barrett while the others did practically nothing all day. Vincent and Cloud made a few deliveries throughout the day but that was all. Shelke stayed at the laboratory to do further research with Nanaki and Yuffie closed up shop to hang out with Tifa and the others in 7th Heaven.

"Why does it have to rain today", whines Yuffie, "I wanted to take the kids to the beach and soak up some sun since my beautiful tan is fading away. I wonder what Cid must be doing right now?"

Tifa wondered the same thing since Cid had not returned in a week now. He usually does not take that long to come back, but it could be raining in Rocket Town too for all she knew. All they could do now was wait. Suddenly Larissa flew by them like a whirlwind, grabbing a glass of water, drinking it, and setting it into the stainless steel sink in a matter of seconds before heading out the door.

Cloud emerges from his place in the corner and asks, "Larissa where are you going? It's about to rain outside and you will get soaked. You don't want to catch a cold do you?" His sudden concern made Larissa's heart twinge slightly as she reached for the door knob. Vincent rushed and successfully blocked the door to not let Larissa pass without going through him first.

Turning to Cloud she responds, "I need to take care of some business today and it cannot wait. I have put it off long enough and as for my health it is in top condition. Now Vincent will you please move away from the door, I will be back by dusk at the latest."

The dark crimson eyes of Vincent's poured into Larissa's ever changing gold ones as he debated whether or not to let her pass and in the end decided to let her go for now. He would talk to her about this later as he touched her cheek softly before moving away from the modern door that led out do the oncoming rain. Walking in her own storm of hell she vanishes into the sheets of rain to search for the missing pieces of her past.

Strolling through the streets of Midgar absentmindedly she finds herself at the cliff where a strange looking Buster Sword, weathered down by years, stands faithfully in its spot of rest. Over the cliff Larissa could see the beach that Yuffie mentioned earlier, even though it is not much it is a place that holds beautiful memories to them, not her. Out in the ocean depths whirlpools formed in odd intervals, sucking up anything that dared to enter it. Closing in on the ancient sword Larissa stopped to examine it a little more before sitting down on the edge of the ridged cliff to think.

The presence of such a sword cried out in her memories as she tried to remember who it belonged to. At first Larissa thought it was Cloud's, but recognized that he was not strong enough to wield such a thing properly. Then a flash of white light streamed across Larissa's eyes and she saw a tall dark man with jet black hair and electric blue eyes that seemed to be affected by Mako Energy just like Cloud's.

"_Who is this man? I remember vaguely that he was the one standing in front of my tank feeling sorry for me because I was being held against my will. I also remember that he tried to convince Hojo in setting me free from Shinra completely, but he refused to do such a ludicrous thing. He was so nice, he reminds me of Cloud in some odd connected way. I wish I knew more about him."_

The sword had a murky glow of gray in the battering wind as Larissa reached out to touch it. A faint shock wave traveled up her arm, into her cranium, and finally entered her brain bank of memories long since forgotten.

"_Now I remember what he did. He was in SOLIDER with Sephiroth and was one of the top men to serve. They used to experiment with them or so I was told by Hojo. He told me that they would put Jenova cells inside those men to make them an invisible police force for Shinra Inc. That's why Cloud and Zack's eyes look like his because of the experiments they did on them were the same as mine. My eyes should look like theirs too, but instead they keep changing from gold to a bright gray close to silver." _

Ignoring the downpour of the merciless rain, she lets the water fall on her fragile body to cleanse her soul. Closing her eyes Larissa lets her mind wonder as the rain slowly drips off her into the muddy ground that surrounds her narrow dainty feet. Drowning out the roaring of the wind and the threatening thunder she looses herself in her past of 7 years ago.

**FLASHBACK 1 **

"Hojo sir, the Jenova cells have now entered her body. Shall we run the first test on her now?"

A tall figure of evil genius with long black hair in a ponytail paced the floor feverishly in what to do next with his new specimen. "Mr. Hojo?"

"Yes, yes hold on a minute, can't you see that I am thinking! What is the rush Hanson? She is not going anywhere so you do not have to worry about anything happening to you," says Hojo nonchalantly to his new assistant John Hanson, who came from Kalm just about a week ago.

John Hanson was not concerned about his safety at all; he was more concerned about this strange girl who washed up on the shore of Midgar and what Hojo plans to do with her. To him she was lovely with such fair skin he had never witnessed in his entire life and beautiful clear gray eyes that looked like the purest crystal orb of materia made near the Ancient City. A sorrowful frown took hold of Hanson's face as he pictured her eyes changing into an eerie turquoise and her hair filled with streaks of silvery white.

"Alright Hanson, I have made up my mind. Run the first red switch to your right to see if we can wake her up completely. I can't wait to use her for all that she is worth and who knows, my Sephiroth might take an interest in her," chuckles Hojo as he waits impatiently for Hanson to pull the switch to see what will happen.

Hanson's hand could not stop trembling as he pushed the red button in, holding his breath the entire time. At that very moment all the circuits embedded in her body came to life with Jenova cells running wildly through the tubes. In a matter of minutes her eyes flew open in udder agony, changing from gray to blue and then to gold. What took place next were the seizures along with shrieks of pain that echoed throughout the laboratory, but no one dared to come and save her. What came after that was the overflowing blood that poured out of her mouth as she bended over the operating table. She was forcing the Jenova cell out of her body.

"Professor Hojo what do we do?! We have to stop the procedure or we will lose her body and soul altogether! I am going to pull the plug," says Hanson frantically as he rushes to the back of the operating table in search of the outlet.

Hojo immediately kicks Hanson out of the way screaming, "No you fool! I want to see where this will lead. She might be able to survive and if not I will have to create something so she will." Horrified by Hojo's request Hanson cowers in the corner with is milky white hands over his ears, waiting for the torture to end and quickly. All the while Hanson prayed that this gorgeous creature would die, so she would not have to serve Hojo like he did. Such tasks that he performed for Hojo were deadly and he knew he was going to hell for them along with the rest of Shinra Inc. "Please do not let this woman go to hell as well," Hanson begged.

Suddenly the screaming and shaking stopped abruptly and Hanson uncovered his ears and eyes to see what happened. To his slightest relief the woman was dead because her skin turned gray and lifeless, all other movements stopped as well. The blood on the floor was like a mini lake that came from her body that needed to be cleaned up thoroughly. "Well it looks like I will have to make something after all. Hanson take all the equipment off of her and set her body in the freezer. I am not even close to being finished with this woman yet," drawled Hojo.

**END OF FLASHBACK 1**

After that Larissa's mind went blank and she did not know she had really died because when she was revived Hojo erased that portion of her memory away. Opening her eyes out to the increasing speed of the storm Larissa once again refocused her mind on other memories that were locked away on some distant island, forbidden to be revealed again.

**FLASHBACK 2**

Entering Nibelheim through the front gates, Larissa sat in the back leather seat of the black Mercedes Benz while Hojo drove them inside. Arriving to the mahogany doors of the Nibelheim Inn, Hojo cuts off the engine and turns around to talk to his new human being. "Well Larissa we are here. I cannot wait for you to meet my son. You two will have so much in common, says Hojo sweetly to her. Larissa remained silent as she quickly opened the car door and slammed it loudly for the whole town to hear. Hojo examined the glossy door later to find a huge dent where the impact of her anger proved to be extreme. He cursed under his breath at the sight and cost of the damage his new creation was causing.

Running after Larissa into the inn, he sees her standing coldly against the left wall right by the plush maroon couch. "Can you at least smile for a second Larissa? You are making everyone else uncomfortable." She shrugged her shoulders and replies, "What is there to be happy about when I am not with my friend today? You really love to waste my time with nonsense." Hojo backed away toward the counter to order the rooms, for he needed something to distract his frustration toward her behavior. _"Ever since she has met Zack she has been disobeying my orders. Sephiroth should be able to fix that," _thinks Hojo while filling out the paperwork.

Another car drove up outside that carried the Turks who were trusted the most. They were Tseng, Reno, and Rude, the two newest ones on the force. "So when is Sephiroth supposed to show up? I can't wait to see what he is like," says Reno excitedly. "Be patient Reno," says Tseng, "There's really nothing to see." Reno just gives Tseng a sly look before standing beside Rude, his new friend that he made the other day. Then another black tented vehicle parks beside all the rest of the cars and Sephiroth emerges out of the passengers seat.

Hojo gazes out of the window and sees that everyone has arrived. Gesturing for Larissa to follow him he says, "Come Larissa, our company has finally shown up to meet you." Larissa quietly follows Hojo outside to see the Turks she despised and a new face that made her stare. He was tall with long flowing silver hair and Mako colored eyes that changed colors periodically. His weapon was the same as hers, a Masamune of the finest iron. When she finally analyzed every part of him she realized that they were pretty much identical.

"Who are you?! I cannot believe I have never seen you before," inquires Larissa shockingly. "I am Sephiroth and I have come to check on the Nibelheim Crater," says the stranger with his powerful dark voice, "And who might you be?" Thinking whether to trust him or not Larissa responds, "I am Larissa and I was brought here to meet you, but I see that I have not missed out on very much." Smiling Sephiroth sweeps his hand lightly across Larissa's right cheek, sending a wave of warning through her body.

"I am glad you two have met each other. I think it is time for us to go inside to register which room we all want," says Hojo happily while grabbing Larissa's arm to guide her back into the hotel. When everything was settled Sephiroth barged in Larissa's bedroom with a mighty bang. "Why do you look so much like me? Are you a part of Mother's offspring too?" Gathering her composer back Larissa says, "I do not know why we have the same characteristics and who is this Mother you speak of? I know no such person to exist." His eyes grew wide at Larissa's answer that he did not expect her to say. "Our Mother is Jenova," he says. "She might be your Mother, but she is no Mother of mine," Larissa replies quite irritably.

Sephiroth then yanks Larissa off of her feet and slams her violently against the wall saying, "How dare you deny our Mother of what she has done for you. I should punish you for such a crime." Larissa now infuriated pushes Sephiroth off of her body with immense force that makes him collide with the furniture. "I have committed no crime that would concern you Sephiroth. My murders are personal and by the way I noticed that you have a 1 on your shoulder. Pity that you were not able to have my number, which is the number 0."

Shocked, Sephiroth jumps to his feet briskly and pulls back Larissa's sleeve to see for himself. Sure enough there stood the number 0 in dark bold ink imprinted in her perfect skin. "How is that possible?! I am the most powerful, no one else can surpass me," he says in awe of his new discovery. "I ought to degrade you for this or make your life a living hell." Smiling wickedly Larissa says, "Go ahead and try, but I am sure I can break you far worse than what you can do to me." With that response he left her room soundlessly in his own raging thoughts.

The next night Sephiroth enters her room again, but this time he had a diabolical plan ready for action. "I have finally made up a punishment for you," he says cheerfully. "Oh really? Well then let's see how awful this punishment is," Larissa challenges. Sephiroth glides across the cold wooden floor and takes Larissa into his arms. In his left hand is a needle with an immobilizing liquid. In one quick movement he injects Larissa with this brown fluid to where she can no longer move.

"Wha… What is this? I cannot move anymore! Stop this magic or I will have to kill you," Larissa threatens. Chuckling Sephiroth says, "Now here comes the fun part, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do." He slowly unfastens her blouse and then her pants. Working his way down he completely undresses her in about a minute, looking over his prize.

'So what do you plan to do with my naked body?' Larissa inquires. A devilish grin appears upon his smooth features as he says, "I am going to have a little fun with it for a few minutes, just stay really still." That night Sephiroth completely violated her body in every way he could think of. When his sexual desires were fulfilled by his well planned rape, he left her there to crumble on the floor fully unclothed with bruises slowly appearing where he enjoyed her the most.

This continued on for many days until Tseng came in to check on Larissa. When he opened her door she had her sword in hand ready to fight. Almost chopping his head off she says, "You need to let me know when you are coming if you want to live." Tseng immediately took a few steps away from her door and said, "I did not know I would have to. In any case what is going on between you and Sephiroth? It seems the distance is deadly to cross."

Larissa gazed into Tseng's dark eyes and knew that he was a man of honor and trust. She put her sword away and responded with, "Sephiroth has been raping me the past few nights. He used an immobilizing fluid to do it, quite clever but I think it still lacks perfection." Tseng's eyes widened at Larissa's casual manner of such a situation.

"Why have you not told anyone?! You should at least know we would take care of it," Tseng says with serious concern. "I know, but that would bring Hojo much pleasure as if he were doing the action himself. How long do we have to stay here anyway? I would rather be locked up," she says sourly.

"You do have a point; at least we only have three days left. I could get you back to the lab tonight if you wish. Sephiroth has no right to violate a woman." Tseng came forward and stroked Larissa's fair hair fondly. "I think that is why I like you, Tseng. Out of all the Turks you have the best morals." Tseng smiles affectionately at her comment about him. He favored Larissa more than anyone right now because they surprisingly had many things in common.

"Do not worry about Sephiroth anymore, you can even stay in my room or take the first option. Whatever you want to do I will do for you," he says sincerely. Larissa pats his cheek lightly to show that she trusts his offer. "I think going back tonight would be better. If he tries to rape me again he will be dead on the floor," says Larissa matter-of-factly. "The car is already ready for your departure Larissa, let's go," says Tseng calmly.

Larissa gathers her few possessions and walks ahead of Tseng to the all too familiar black vehicles that Shinra Inc. loved to drive. Running out of the frond door of the inn, Tseng jogs ahead of her this time and opens the passenger seat for her to sit in. Larissa thanks him for his generosity and Tseng sits in the driver's seat and they take off back to Midgar.

The remainder of the week Larissa spent most of her time with Tseng, who decided to stay with her and Zack whenever he had free time. Those three days were the best days of her life. Back at Nibelheim, Hojo and Sephiroth both screamed in frustration at Larissa's sudden departure without any warning. Hojo locked her up even longer than normal for her punishment and Tseng was whipped severely for acting out of character.

**END OF FLASHBACK 2**

It was about dusk when Larissa arrived back as promised to meet everyone for dinner. Vincent stood in the door frame waiting for her to return when he saw a faint shadow approaching. Running out in the sheets of rain he found Larissa walking back toward him in a more irritated mood than before.

Larissa could see Vincent in the rain too as she followed the glow of his eyes like lasers leading her closer to 7th Heaven. Before she could stop him Vincent picks Larissa up into his powerful arms to carry her back since she was practically soaked through her clothes. She was going to attack him if only her strength was not so low. Arriving in a fancy way everyone gave her a welcome back from her trip. "Thanks everyone," says Larissa blissfully, "If you all do not mind though I would like to take a long warm bath. Please eat without me I know you must all be hungry." While in the bathroom Larissa takes off her sodden clothes and hangs them over the toilet to dry out. She then turns on the water to heat up, but looks in the mirror before stepping in. She could still see the ever changing color of her eyes that bothered her the most.

Now sinking slowly into the warm clear water Larissa finally relaxes for the first time in many nights, but suddenly she hears an angelic voice of a woman that says, _"I have been meaning to speak with you Larissa, will you come and meet me?" _

"_Who are you and how do you know my name? What do you want?" _

"_I want you to come visit me in the church Larissa. When you come I will explain everything to you, until then goodbye." _

"_Wait! No come back her woman. I need to meet her in the church, the one in Midgar! Well looks like I have another adventure to go on tomorrow. Hopefully Cloud will not be there." _

Hopping out of the bath Larissa puts on a white cotton robe and goes to her bedroom to collapse onto the bed into a dreamless sleep. _  
_


	12. What Awaits in the Spirit World

The birds who sang in harmony with the rumbling march of people's feet outside woke up Larissa quite suddenly. Looking to her left she found Vincent tossing in his sleep again, all the pure white sheets thrown astray across his strained body. Guilt seeped through Larissa's porcelain skin of how she has neglected to take care of Vincent's nightmares. The feverish heat coming from his forehead caused Larissa to shed a tear of sadness as she closed her hand over it to cool his body to a reasonable degree. Vincent's bloodshot eyes met Larissa's while he took her hand away from his forehead and placed it upon his lips for comfort.

"I am glad to see your beautiful face this morning Larissa, I have missed it terribly. I hope you finally got some sleep after those restless nights," says Vincent dreamily with Larissa's hand still pressed against his smooth mouth, kissing it gently to make sure it was real.

"Please forgive me Vincent," whispers Larissa with a hint of a plea in her voice, "I should have been here for you when Chaos was giving you hell. Are you feeling better now?"

Releasing his slightly warm lips from her hand at last Vincent turns his head toward Larissa, leaving the rest of his body erect on the creaking bed. "There is nothing to forgive you for Larissa. I have lived with this curse for most of my life; even though you have helped me cope with it I think I can handle some of Chaos's wrath myself."

Larissa's smile radiated off of Vincent's golden claw with joy at his response, for she did not want Vincent to think she did not care about his condition, which she cared for very much. Her smile seemed contagious to Vincent since in a few moments he was smiling gently back at her too. Rising from his side of the bed Larissa helps Vincent up and they both start for the stairs leading to the kitchen downstairs for breakfast. Upon their arrival they are bombarded by Marlene and Denzel with hugs and kisses of the grand new morning.

"Well morning you two, what are you so excited about? I hope you haven't been waiting for Vincent and me to wake up. If you did you are not missing out on anything," says Larissa cheerfully.

"Cid just arrived! He brought back some cool stuff from Rocket Town," cheers Marlene. "He even upgraded his airship and is going to take us all on a ride to the Gold Saucer pretty soon," says Denzel ecstatically.

"Finally you two sleepyheads are awake! Come outside and look at my greatest work of art ever, I know you will love it Larissa because I have a surprise for you," bellows Cid from outside 7th Heaven.

While Marlene had Vincent's hand Denzel took Larissa's and pulled them outside with the rest of the crew to see what Cid was up to so early in the morning. "Everyone gather around on this side of the airship," says Cid pointing to the left side where there was an enormous white blanket covering up what appeared to be a new work of art. "Alright you guys take off the sheet!"

At this command by Cid about 20 men ran toward the edges of the sheet and began to tug cautiously until the whole sheet gave way to a new tattoo no one expected.

"So what do you think guys? Larissa I know you must love it most of all."

Larissa could not believe that she was looking at herself painted on Cid's airship of all things by a well skilled artist by the look of it. "Um Cid I don't want to sound self-centered, but is that supposed to be me on your airship?" Turning toward her with a board grin Cid answers, "Yes it sure is, so what do you think of it? Any details we need to do or add?" Vincent and Cloud looked at the painting and then back to Larissa and knew without a doubt that it was an exact replica of her. How those men knew what to do to make this painting this stunning is beyond them and they had a gut feeling they did not want to know how it was done.

When Larissa took another glance at it she knew nothing was out of place except the eyes. They were a golden color, but for some reason she had an impulse to change them to a clear gray.

"_My eyes are not an eerie gold color, how could they make such a mistake. Change them to my beautiful transparent gray, like they used to be." _

"_Who are you?! Now I am hearing more voices, great just what I needed."_

"Cid it's gorgeous, but can I change one thing? I would like to change the color of my eyes to a clear gray myself. I think it would suit me better," suggests Larissa. Cid and the others all stared at her for a few minutes speechless until Cid commanded his men to bring out the paint and supplies for Larissa to use on the airship.

"Now all we need is a really tall ladder. Rodney go in the back of the ship and get the huge one out for Larissa and…" Larissa cut Cid off before Rodney could retrieve the ladder by saying, "That won't be necessary Cid thanks because I can use the spell Float to reach the top. It will only take me a second."

Waving her hand expertly at her feet Larissa rose into the fresh open sky near her portrait on the airship with paint and a brush following shortly behind her. Larissa's long fingers moved swiftly as she covered up the gold color with a light white coat then a very cool gray to go on top, revealing a more stunning picture than before.

"Well what do you guys think? I love it even more this way thank you Cid so much." Floating back down to the ground Larissa rushes over to Cid, and gives him a warm bear huge that he takes in with full happiness at the gesture. "I am so glad you like it Larissa! I think we should take it for a spin in a few weeks. We are still test driving it for any problems, but once it's ready we are all going to the Gold Saucer," beams Cid.

"Sorry to interrupt," says Tifa politely while putting away her cell phone, "Cloud, Vincent, Edge needs help unloading a new shipment that just arrived from Kalm and it looks like it might take you guys all day. You don't mind do you? It pays really well."

"I guess not," says Vincent with little interest in the task whatsoever. "Sure Tifa no problem, we will be back later Larissa. Cid I have to say that that tattoo is a keeper, later everyone," sighs Cloud as he and Vincent walk toward the motorcycles to take off for their full day of work.

"_I wish they both didn't have to leave, but this will give me my chance to check out the church by myself,"_ Larissa reasoned as she walked away from Cid and everyone else to see what or who awaited her arrival in the church just a few blocks from 7th Heaven.

Walking along the never ending crowded streets of Midgar Larissa quickly approaches the peaceful church with ease as she reaches out her hand to open the tall ancient door. Lightly swinging it open on its bronze hinges she instantly feels a heavenly presence about the room, something her heart seemed to long for. Larissa took a deep breath before entering the sacred place with her guard up and eyes wide open. Not to be too careless she closed the door behind her, so as to not let onlookers peek in on what she was doing there.

The heavenly presence grew even stronger as Larissa walked further into the church near the white and pale yellow flowers in the middle of the floor. Approaching them cautiously she felt the urge to pick one of them and hold it tightly in her pale hands close to her heart. Larissa's mind seemed to take her over as she did just that, she picked the one nearest to her body and held it up high to examine it. The glow was blazing in the light from the caved in roof above to where Larissa had to shield her eyes to see the flower properly.

"_You have arrived like I thought you would Larissa. I am glad, please take that flower and step forward to the middle of the garden. Make sure the flower is against your heart otherwise this will not work. I hope to see you soon." _

Larissa automatically searched around to see where that woman's voice came from, but found nothing and no one inside the church with her. It looked like she had no other choice but to obey this stranger's instruction. Coming to the middle of the garden Larissa placed the delicate flower right over her pounding heart and closed her alert eyes to wait for the transaction to happen. The first action she could feel was her soul raising out of her body toward a blinding white light in the sky. The next thing Larissa knew she arrived in an off white room with a light gray mist floating all around her body.

When looking through the hole she just came from she saw her body hovering in the middle of the garden where she had left it, but it looked like she was praying because of how her hands were positioned around the flower. There was even a whitish barrier around her body to keep it preserved for her soul to return to when she was done here. Larissa's head snapped back mechanically at the sound of footsteps approaching her only a few feet away from where she arrived.

Narrowing her piercing eyes in this bright mist she witnessed a young woman wearing a pink dress with brown boots to match. She also had a pink ribbon in her hair that tied it back in a neat ponytail. Her emerald green eyes were mesmerizing while she stared at you like she could see right through your soul and knew all of your secrets. Her presence was surprisingly gentle in Larissa's opinion by her experience with the spirit world in the past.

"Hello Larissa. My name is Aeris and I am the one who called you here today," said the woman who approached Larissa casually.

Larissa's eyes traveled over Aeris and realized what purpose this woman had to die so young for. "So you are the savior of the Planet, the last of the Ancients. It really is an honor to finally meet you. Can you tell me how you died?"

"Sephiroth killed me at the City of the Ancients while I was praying. I was the only one who could send Holy to save the Planet and he was trying to stop me. As you can see I have succeeded with Cloud's group, but I have been hearing that Sephiroth still roams the Earth. Is this true?"

"Yes it is true Aeris. He does still roam the Earth with a vengeance and the need for my body, for it is the only one who can make Sephiroth whole again. Do not worry though he will never have it no matter what. I would die before I ever let him try to rule the world again."

"He wants your body?! That means that you are not human and you belong to the Jenova Project?"

"That is correct Aeris, I am not human entirely. I still seem to have my heart and brain implanted inside this new body Hojo created for me when my original body could not handle the power of the Jenova cells. If anyone can destroy Sephiroth's existence it will be me. Now whether I make it through the Spirit World is another matter that fate will decide I am sure."

"Yes you are right about that Larissa, but can you not hear your soul crying to be set free? I am sure it drives you insane."

"It does in my dreams, but where can my soul go when there is no original body it can go home to? I have no idea what or where Hojo put it on this Earth."

"Your original body is missing?! Now that is a strange one, have you ever tried looking for it?"

Larissa looked at Aeris with a hopeless smile as she raised herself off of the floor to her full height. Aeris was surprised at first at Larissa's height of 5'6", which was uncommon for a woman to have such a perfect length. Even the eerie beauty that was coming from Larissa's body told her that it was the work of that mad scientist Hojo; he always seemed to make beautiful destructive beings in his laboratory.

"What is the use of finding a body I will never be able to inhabit again? Aeris, I plan to die for this Planet because I think it is the only way to bring Sephiroth down, by taking him with me. Unless you have a better idea, I would love to hear it."

Aeris's emerald eyes grew wide as she heard Larissa announce her death so naturally with full determination to save the world, something she had not thought about when she died for the Planet herself.

A heart warming smile came upon her lips as she said, "You really are a brave woman, and even though you do not have your own body I still admire your courage. But tell me do Cloud and the rest of the group know of your plans?"

Larissa bit her lower lip slightly as she answered, "Well no they do not. I wanted to tell them after I rebuild the town that Sephiroth burned to the ground. I made a promise to those people that I would come back and help. If I told them before I left that would put them in a serious bind and I know Cloud and Vincent would cage me in for sure. I sometimes wish they did not care so much, I do not want to break their hearts."

"Yes you do have a point Larissa, but I am a little curious. How much do Cloud and Vincent care about you? Are they that deeply dependent on you?"

"Those two questions I wish I had a direct answer to give you Aeris. I know Vincent and I are definitely beyond words since we talk telepathically most of the time and as for Cloud he held me yesterday. Oh and Vincent did kiss my hand repeatedly this morning, I guess they as well as myself are deep over their heads."

"Oh wow they really are in love with you! I really didn't see that one coming at all; do you have a plan to lay them down gently at all?"

Looking Aeris full in the eyes she could not help a solid crystal tear escape from her stiff cheeks as she replied, "Well I was going to tell Cloud to stay with Tifa, but I don't really know what to tell Vincent. Even if I told them something they will never let me do this by myself and that's the difficult part of it all. I also have the rest of the group to worry about. I don't know if you have been watching, but Cid painted a self portrait of me on his airship, his Airship!"

"That's amazing that they have grown so attached to you Larissa," said a foreign male voice from the background of the misty room. Aeris instantly turned around and found the man that spoke suddenly and asked him, "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear what's going on in the real world, Larissa I don't know if you remember me, but I am…"

"You're Zack from SOLDIER," Larissa interrupted as she saw the man in full view this time, "You were the one who would visit my tank sometimes and talk to me, I really liked your company."

The male that came before them still wore the old SOLDIER uniform with a sheath where a long thick sword should have been. He had spiky jet black hair with bright blue eyes like the purest ocean. The muscles on his naked arms seemed to still have their youthful flexibility along with his casual walk. Zack also had an intoxicating smile that would make any girl faint that Larissa could not help but smile broadly back at him.

"It has been way too long Zack. At first I thought you had disappeared, but seeing you here in the Spirit World makes me really sad. I guess the cause of your death was true of the Turks shooting down on that cliff. I am so sorry," says Larissa sadly with a hint of warmth from meeting an old friend again.

"Yeah no kidding Larissa," laughed Zack, "I am glad to see you in good spirits ever since we last saw each other. So Sephiroth is after you uh? Well we would love to help you in any way we can, right Aeris?"

Aeris turned away from Zack to face Larissa with fierce eyes of green flames and said, "We will do anything you ask of us that is in our power, all you have to do is name it. You know, even though you might be able to return to your body maybe we can track down for you just in case. What do you think Zack?"

"That is an excellent idea Aeris! We would be glad to do it Larissa, it's the least we could do for you."

"I would love that, but why are you two so inclined in helping me?"

"We want to help you," says Zack, "because we know you are a wonderful person and I should know from experience. Larissa no one should have to do fight alone, especially when it comes to Sephiroth. Let us aid you and besides we can't be reduced to anything else then what we are now, which is spirits. Trust me we have great protection."

"Zack is right Larissa," pipes up Aeris, "We have unlimited protection from the Spirit World, so you don't have to worry about a thing." At this time Aeris winked at Larissa, which made her laugh lightly at her two new friends and their kindness.

Zack seemed to not be able to hold in his laughter either because he started to chuckle a little bit with Larissa at Aeris's jester. Then Aeris joined in with them until she asked Larissa, "So Larissa is it true that you also have a wing in your back?"

"Yes it certainly is Aeris," answered Larissa matter-of-factly.

"You can't be serious Larissa? Damn that Hojo! How dare he put you through so much grief like the rest of us," riles Zack.

"It's ok Zack. We can't do anything about it now and besides…" Larissa turned abruptly toward the hole where she came from and heard a male's voice not to far from her lifeless floating body. "Some one is in the church, looks like I have to go. I will come back real soon Aeris and Zack."

'Wait Larissa, lets see who it is first, "says Zack as he follows Larissa to the portal with Aeris right beside him. Peering down they all saw Cloud walking toward Larissa with a confused look on his smooth features.

"Hey it's Cloud! He still looks great after all of these years," says Zack cheerfully.

"Yes he sure does," replies Aeris, "Well Larissa I guess this really is goodbye for now. I hope to see you soon."

"Same here, come back anytime you want too. One of us will be here," says Zack as he smiles in farewell.

"Alright I will you two and now that I know who you are, you can talk to me in my head if you like. I won't mind some new company ever now and then. Goodbye now." Larissa smiled one last time to them and vanished through the opening to return to her body to greet Cloud.

Down below Cloud approached Larissa's body with wonder. He took his right hand from his side and began to reach out when suddenly a great whirlwind surrounded Larissa's body completely. The next thing Cloud knew Larissa was floating back down to the ground with the flower still clutched in her hand.

When Larissa's eyes flew open she lost her balance and landed perfectly in Cloud's unprepared arms in from of her. Lifting her head Larissa saw Cloud's concern expression take over his once curious one in no time at all.

The gaze was held before Larissa spoke, "Cloud I am so sorry. I did not mean to land in your arms like this." Embarrassed Larissa escaped Cloud's inviting embrace and straightened herself up before explaining what she was doing in the church.

"Larissa what were you doing just now? I came in and all I saw was this bright light around your body and you had on of Aeris's flowers in your hands.

"Well Cloud I hope you can believe me, but I went to the Spirit World with one of Aeris's flowers and I got to meet her and Zack too. Aeris came in one of my dreams and said she wanted to see me in the church, so I did and the flower worked. I understand now why the flowers glow like they do. They are filled with spiritual power probably left behind by her. Those two were so friendly and… Cloud are you alright?"

Cloud's face went pale as he listened to Larissa speak of her tale of what she was doing in the church today. "You were able to talk to Aeris and Zack," whispered Cloud, "What did they say?!"

"Well we talked about the world, each other, and a little bit of Sephiroth that had to do with our lives. I enjoyed them so much that they seemed real to me."

"How did you do it? I mean it's so incredible that you were able to communicate with them like that," says Cloud in awe.

"Well," answers Larissa, "first you have to have spiritual power in your own body to transfer to the flowers that Aeris left behind in this very garden. Then you close your eyes and concentrate on who or where you want to see. From there your spirit rises from your body up to the Spirit World and they provide a sort of barrier to preserve your body from being damaged. For example let's take another one of Aeris flowers."

Larissa picked another one near her feet and placed it in Cloud's firm hands along with hers. Squeezing lightly on the stem they both felt a powerful stream of energy flow throughout both of their bodies at the same time.

"You feel that Cloud? That is the spiritual energy that is in these flowers. The pulse of it is astounding," says Larissa quietly while the late birds still chirped outside.

"It is amazing Larissa. You think there might be a way I can talk to them too? I would like to do that," replies Cloud while looking at the flower, mesmerized.

"I am sorry Cloud, but you do not have enough power to send your spirit up to see them. The guardians love to take souls away if they can when they are as fresh as yours. Don't worry though Cloud I will tell you everything that we talk about when we have free time. You can list some questions for them if would like. I don't mind asking them."

"Ok thanks Larissa for showing me what these flowers can do," says Cloud thankfully.

"No problem, so how was the trip to Edge today? I bet you and Vincent were busy today," says Larissa.

For the remainder of that evening they stayed in the church talking about their day and catching up with what was going on in the group and with each other. It was nightfall before Nanaki heard the voices of Cloud and Larissa from the church and decided to be the one to haul them back to 7th Heaven to eat. Nanaki's clever steps caught them both by surprise as he jumped right in front of their feet with a sly grin on his face.

"Hey you two are you ready to eat? Tifa has made a great meal tonight, its fried chicken sandwiches. Come on now or you will be late."

Cloud took Larissa's dainty hand to help her onto her feet and they all went out of the church door to the streets of Midgar. Waving to people as they passed Cloud had Larissa's arm in his as they followed Nanaki back to the diner to eat and be off to bed. As they arrived at the door everyone greeted them with open arms and some cursing from Barrett for being late. Larissa's only thoughts were how fortunate she has been to have such wonderful friends, yet sad when she knew that she would have to leave them real soon.


	13. An Unexpected Visitor in Edge

**Sorry this took me so long to update. School has been taking up most of my time, so it might take longer for the chapters to be written. Happy Reading! ) **

**One of Larissa's Dreams**

"I have to leave all of you today and I do not know when I will be back. You will forgive me won't you?"

Vincent's reddened eyes become downcast as he tries to absorb Larissa's statement. "You are leaving me? I am the one who persuaded the group to let you live and now you are going away. What about my needs?! What about what I want?! I have suffered so much in my life and I still can't grasp what I want more than anything in the world. I guess I am truly cursed for life." Small swollen tears escape his eyes as he turns away to reveal Cloud right behind him.

"Leaving? Does my company mean nothing to you? I guess I was expecting too much out of a wonderful dream. Go ahead and flee to wherever you are needed, it's not like I need you for anything." A tear fell from his ocean blue eyes as Tifa appeared after him with Yuffie locked arm in arm.

"What about the children? Are you just going to leave them when they love you so much? I thought you really cared, but instead you used our hospitality," says Tifa. "Yeah Tifa is right, pipes up Yuffie, I thought we were like sisters or at least best friends. Did you ever stop to think of all the people you are hurting?"

Then comes Barrett with an aggravated expression that said, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Out of all the times to disappear, you picked the shittiest. What is Marlene going to do? I bet you didn't think of that." Walking past Barrett, Larissa finds Cid leaning against his spear with a lit cigarette in his right hand. "Cid," Larissa whispers. Dead silence fills the room, almost cutting off her oxygen and concentration.

Cid turns away from her completely and says, "How could you Larissa? We need you here and I know I am not the only one who has said it either. Goddammit! Why do you have to be this way? Haven't we given you enough? I painted you on my airship for Christ's sake! I guess you really don't care."

Larissa runs off in the other direction to find Shelke and Reeves, who are too choked up to speak, but Nanaki marches forward with a sorrowful tear stained face. "Larissa, he says, I cannot comprehend why you want to depart, but I know that I as well as they will never forgive you." More tears landed onto the darkened ground as the whole group appears before her.

"I am sorry! I am sorry I ever came into your lives. I am sorry that I have to leave, even though I don't want to. Please just forgive me; I didn't want to hurt any one of you. I love you all!"

**Larissa's Dream Ends**

Shocked out of her sleep Larissa automatically presses her silky hand to her soaked cheeks. Apparently she had been crying for most of the night and waking up to see Vincent gone was not comforting either. Syncing into his mind, Larissa finds him downstairs running around frantically for Tifa. It seems that the business is booming really early this morning.

Rising from bed Larissa immediately rushes to the bathroom to wash her face, and clear her eyes of the tears that came from her original soul. _"I haven't cried in years, maybe Aeris was right. My real human soul wants to be set free, yet the wing and this body is holding me back. I would love to commit suicide and rest in peace, but Sephiroth needs to be dealt with first. Plus I need to consider how this will affect my new friends, something I have never done." _

The cooling water cleansed Larissa's angelic face as she glided out of the bathroom to head down the stairs to meet Vincent; hopefully he was not disturbed by her unexpected crying last night. Gripping the banister tightly until her knuckles turned pale white; she finally arrived into Tifa's diner and spotted Vincent at the counter with several new packages in his hand for delivery. _"Wait Vincent! Can I talk to you for a second before you go?" _Immediately Vincent turns around to find Larissa's fragile body leaning against the wall for support, which made him alert at once.

Dropping all of the packages onto the counter where they were originally, Vincent walks briskly toward her while telepathically saying to her, _"What is wrong Larissa? You look severely ill; you should go back to bed at once. At least let me call a doctor for you or something."_ Larissa laughs lightly at Vincent's sudden panic and concern for her health when that is the least of her problems right now. _"I will be fine Vincent, but I was wondering why you were not in bed last night? I hope you did not hear anything unpleasant while you were asleep." __"Sorry to have made you worry over me I was just on the roof again. I would have gotten you if you were not asleep already. No I didn't hear a thing besides the noises of the city. Are you sure you are okay?" _

Larissa's hand gently touches Vincent's ice cold face to reassure him when she discovers that he is paler than usual. "I see that Tifa has been working you hard this morning, maybe I should go with you on the next one. Is that ok with you Tifa if I go with Vincent on the next run?"

While wiping the countertop down for the next customers Tifa replies, "Sure Larissa, I think Vincent could use an extra hand. The next town he has to go to is Edge and then some other towns after that. Good luck trying to carry all of the deliveries on time." Her cheerful smile spread to Larissa's as she gained her strength back to stand upright. "Cool Tifa thanks. Well Vincent lets pack up everything and head out onto the open road," Larissa says while taking the extra packages and leads him out the door to the truck.

Taking the packages from her hands Vincent puts them into the back of the truck for safe keeping. "Larissa you don't have to come with me on these errands. I know they must bore you immensely," drawls Vincent with his clawed golden hand on the passenger door for Larissa to hop in. "I love to spend time with you Vincent and I have never done that during the day. I really want to see Edge, a town that has taken in so many of the poor people of this world. You will take me there won't you?"

Larissa's fading golden eyes into a pure gray made Vincent agree wholeheartedly to take her with him. Besides he loves her company, why would he want to leave her behind? Daintily Larissa rests her firm body into the passenger seat next him while he grips the wheel to calm his nerves of her presence. The paved roads of Midgar rattled noisily under the charcoal tires of the ancient truck as it made its way out to the Wastelands. Vincent remained silent while holding Larissa's hand unconsciously. She started to realize that this became a habit when they were alone together; it gave him a sense of security that no one else could fill. To Larissa's discomfort she allowed this action to happen because it enabled Vincent to concentrate properly when he drove. The dirt roads appearing before them fascinated Larissa more than she thought. With the firm rising mountains of rustic orange and the tumble weeds rolling by, she felt a small longing of freedom to roam these lands one last time.

Vincent noticed her expression of sadness and asks, "What is the matter Larissa, did you not want to come with me?" Alarmed Larissa puts on one of her most charming smiles and says, "Of course I wanted to come with you Vincent. I wish I could tell you what is on my mind, but it might be too early to tell. I will reveal one thing though. I believe I will be leaving you all very soon because the plans are complete. I have been trying to contact them, but I am receiving zero response, I am worried."

Vincent's hand tightened on Larissa's like a defenseless child to its mother. She could tell that he did not want her to leave, period. If he could they would have been chained together a long time ago or something of that sort.

"Vincent you know I will have to leave eventually. I wish it could be on better circumstances than just a promise I made to those people. But maybe it will be better for all of us in the near future, once I am gone." Abruptly Vincent stops the truck and stares at Larissa in bewilderment in what she has just said. In his state of confusion he asks, "What are you talking about Larissa?! My life would crumble if you ever left it completely. Wherever you go I will come to visit or be there when you need me."

"That is what I am afraid of. Our attachment to one another, although it is not that solid yet, should not be tampered with more than what it already is. I want you to know that no matter what I will always harm you in some way of my own, even though it will be unintentionally. My reactions tell me so and I will fall to them one of these days. I say this as a reminder that if you truly are my friend then you will disregard anything I might say or do once that time comes. Now let's continue driving on to Edge shall we?"

A dead silence fills the ancient truck as Larissa gazes out the window before looking into Vincent's deep set crimson eyes to see if he understands where she is coming from. He nods his head slowly in acknowledgement of what she wants and begins to start the truck up again with a groan. Back on the dirt road once again Vincent drives steadily toward Edge for the delivery. Not standing the silence much longer Vincent says quietly, "I can't believe you have stayed with me through all the commotion I have caused you. To think that such a beautiful woman can still love a monster such as me is truly fortunate. You will stay with me for a while longer won't you Larissa?"

"You sound like you are the only monster in this truck. For the things I have put everyone through is something to marvel at considering how they stay calm through most of it. To answer your question, yes I will stay with you for a little longer. I do enjoy your kind of company as much as the rest of Avalanche. It is something to look forward to for a change."

Vincent takes Larissa's fading hand, which is much to her discomfort, and continues driving expertly down the road past many more rustic mountains of red instead of orange. "I can live with that for a little while from you. But I have to confess that Cloud is growing feelings for you too. I am sorry that I read his thoughts, yet I don't feel as guilty about it as a normal person would be," confides Vincent even more quietly. "We are both not normal Vincent," responds Larissa, "yet I have been feeling the same vibe from him these past few days as well. I wish he would stay with Tifa, he really would not be my type of guy to be with."

Laughing Vincent says, "Cloud and I have become very close since we have had time to spend together when we deliver for others. You could say we have grown tight like brothers that share almost everything. We have talked about Tifa many times and he does not see her more than a friend at the moment. I thought it was because of his huge lose of Aeris just like I felt when I lost Lucrecia, that no one else could replace that deep hole inside. But when you came into our lives you changed the way we love, the way we live. No one else could do that, not even Tifa who has been with us for many years. I guess it does take an outsider to change one's perspective on life."

"You would think it would be that simple, a stranger changing everything to great standards of safety and happiness instead of agonizing pain", says Larissa, "yet that will not be the case this time." Her voice trails off as if she is talking to herself while the run down city of Edge appears just a few miles away. "Oh look Vincent, is that Edge up ahead? I cannot wait to see it when we get there," says Larissa enthusiastically. Vincent runs the truck a little further before shifting the rusty gear of it to a stop right in front of the decaying iron gate.

"I am here on a delivery from Midgar, open up the gates!" shouts Vincent to the headman sitting on top of the graying column leading into the town that is known for it's growing slum sectors.

"Be careful around here Larissa. These kids are skilled in pick pocketing people, someone like you are bound to draw attention to them sooner or later," warns Vincent as he drives through the now open gate to the center of the town to drop off some supplies to the only general store in this murky place. Larissa observed that the tall buildings were made from scraps of old metal piled on top of each other in a complicated mess. The steel wires intertwined with the gaping holes that were supposed to be windows for the residents of each complex.

Many orphaned children roamed the polluted streets looking for any spare change or other people's pockets to steal a peek at. Most of them coughed hoarsely from a tiny cold that would spread into a nasty illness in a matter of a days or a week at the latest. Food seemed to be something the citizens lacked as they gazed upon the back of the truck to see new supplies coming in from the prosperous Midgar.

"This is terrible Vincent," comments Larissa, "have all of these people been living in this condition all of this time?" Putting his arm around Larissa's waist for security reasons besides affection he whispers into her ear, "Yes, Edge has been this way for many years. We are trying to upgrade their standards, but it seems they want to live in a dump. I guess it's because they don't have to answer to anyone but themselves, and since they don't have anything there is nothing to loose if something were to happen to the town itself. Pretty rough conditions, yet it surprisingly has some advantages to it."

"Yes it certainly does," says Larissa while her envious emotion begins to grow drastically from these new people who are selfish enough to take care of themselves instead of other people. In this fashion Larissa would not have to harm anyone but herself, which is not worth very much since the lab incident many years ago. Coming upon the general store a group of slum children ran out of the hazy alley way carrying a small boy of about 7 years old. It seemed they were taking him for ransom or taunting him for his unusual green eyes and light brown hair that took the color of orange in the sunlight.

The young boy looked at Vincent and then shouted in Larissa's direction, "Miss Larissa! Miss Larissa! I finally have found you after all of these months, please you must help me." Stunned Larissa immediately realized that this boy came from the village Gaia where they used to live. Rushing to his rescue Larissa wrenched the little boy free from the dirty children and gave them an evil stare that sent them running back to the darkness of their world.

"Oh thank you Miss Larissa for saving me, but what are you doing in a place like this? We have been waiting for your return and so far you are out here doing something else. What is taking you so long, you don't love us anymore?"

It only took her a few seconds to identify this young boy to be "Mad Dog" Maddox that used to live in the nice little cottage on the far right of the village. "Maddox how did you come all this way by yourself with no one to help you? I bet your mother is worried sick over the mischief you love to cause that poor heart of hers."

A huge grin enveloped Maddox's face as he replies, "You should have known Miss Larissa that I would go looking for you. We were wondering if you survived that terrible man, and if you were coming back to us. But I see you have forgotten because you are running errands with a new friend."

His expression immediately transformed into a hurtful irritation as he eyed Vincent with his hand on Larissa's waist. "You should know me better than anyone Maddox, I would never abandon the town," cries Larissa, "and I just finished the blue prints to rebuild it the other day. Why don't you come back with us and I will show you. Come, Vincent will not harm you."

Maddox analyzed Vincent very carefully before taking Larissa's free feeble hand into his own to make sure she was real. "Okay Miss Larissa, I'll go with you," says Maddox still eyeing Vincent suspiciously. Vincent's red eyes flashed momentarily in front of Maddox's tiny face that it made him jump by Larissa's side.

Then Vincent released Larissa and unloaded the truck to the poor gentleman by the rotten door of his general store. Maddox's eyes gleamed with excitement when he asked Larissa, "So you are coming home to us? We are really going to rebuild the town? I can't wait until it is finished we can live together again, just like we used to."

Rubbing his hand in hers Larissa could not help but feel pity for Maddox when she would have to confess to the town that she would be leaving them for good. "Yes it will be nice," says Larissa lightly. If she promised them anything more it would scare them greatly. While Vincent gave the packages to the old man, Larissa instructed Maddox to stay by the truck so she could help him. He obeyed reluctantly, yet he still watched attentively to the crowd as well as Larissa and Vincent.

"He seems very insecure," says Vincent quietly. "We will have to have a meeting with everyone when we get back. Everyone is going to be curious of his presence; just looking at his light hazel eyes proves he is from the North."

"Yes you do have a point. The people in the village do come from the North, but I don't know what part. Maddox has a right to be insecure because of my long term disappearance. I have not contacted any of the people since I left. It seems they are not angered by my lack of communication, more like they are thankful that I am still alive. The rebuilding of the town should only take about 3 or 4 months with my fast skills," replies Larissa as she takes the last package out of the long truck bed and hands it gently to the manager of the store.

"They should be since you have done so much for them while you stayed. And now you are going to rebuild them from the ground up that is truly something to be thankful for." A soft loving smile shined across Vincent's stone cold face that revealed more love than Larissa could tolerate. She quickly turned her bronze eyes away to check on Maddox, who was opening the front door to let himself in the bluish colored truck. Laughing Larissa says to Maddox, "It seems you are eager to leave this place. I guess you could not wait until we got to the truck ourselves. Are you that afraid of Edge?"

Maddox did not say a word, he only signaled for Larissa to come into the truck to keep him company. With a quiet sigh Larissa looks at Vincent to see if they are done for the day, and he nods his head in agreement that they were. Waving at the general store employees Vincent automatically wraps his arm around Larissa's waist once again to guide her back to the truck where Maddox sat annoyed. "Alright Maddox we are set to go to Midgar, a huge city full of action and suspense. Are you ready for an adventure into the unknown?" His eyes shown bright at the word adventure that Larissa described as she climbed into the passenger seat next to him.

Maddox decided that Vincent was dangerous to Larissa or something to that nature because he took up the middle seat in the front to block Vincent from touching her. Vincent noticed this later on when he climbed into the driver's seat to see Maddox giving him the evil eye. Forcing the ancient truck to life they left Edge through the decaying gates toward Midgar. Vincent kept a close eye on Maddox on the ride out and he noticed that he worshipped Larissa more than anyone in his world.

"I am so glad I have found you," Maddox whispers. "We must leave at once when we head back to this Midgar place. I really want you home, we miss you so much." Maddox gripped Larissa's arm even tighter as her eyes grew wide with concern. She did not know her influence had impacted those people's lives so drastically. Larissa's only thought was of how she was going to get out of this one. Glancing over to her left she noticed that his hands were clenching the steering wheel to an extreme, it looked like he was going to break it into a million pieces.

"_Vincent you must calm down! Take a deep breath and relax,"_ says Larissa telepathically. Vincent looked at his hands and realizes that they are turning a deep crimson color close to violet. Listening to Larissa like always he breaths in a deep sigh and continues down the rustic dirt road to Midgar.

No one talked for an eternity until Larissa says, "Maddox I will not be able to leave today because I must say goodbye to everyone first. It would be rude not to do so. We will leave in a day or two, so you can explore Midgar a little bit before we go. Plus you will love the new friends I have made."

Maddox turns abruptly toward Larissa with an angered expression of impatience. He never likes to wait for anything that is not on his schedule. Then he whips his head toward Vincent, who is driving steadily. When he looks at Vincent for the first time he notices the golden claw and the torn clothing. Wide eyed Maddox asks, "Why are your clothes like that? Are you some sort of demon?"

Larissa smiles at his cunning observation and says, "Maddox that quite rude to say to a stranger, I would apologize to Vincent right now." Laughing softly Vincent replies, "Its ok Larissa I don't mind telling him the truth." Turning toward Maddox he continues to speak. "I am not completely human because of a certain accident. In order for me to be saved a woman implanted a demon inside my body if you want to call it that. From that point on I have always been this way, but I promise you that I do not harm people. If you think I am dangerous you should see the rest of the group."

A sly smirk emerges onto Vincent's soft face as he pulls through the opening gate to Midgar. Larissa had to blink a few times before realizing that they had arrived so soon. Maddox peeked outside the window and was awed by what he saw. It was his first time he had ever seen sky scrapers and millions of people running around everywhere. The shops and automobiles fascinated him the most because of the sounds and the neon lights.

"Welcome to Midgar Maddox," Larissa says, "Aren't you glad you came back with me?" He could only shake his head in response as he continued to look out the window. Vincent glided the truck into the parking lot next to 7th Heaven and stealthily got out to open the door for Larissa. When he opened the door it made a squeaking noise that made Nanaki appear at the front door. "Well it sure took you two long enough," says Nanaki tautly, "We were thinking that you guys ran away for the day."

Laughing merrily, Larissa carries Maddox out of the front seat and sets him in front of her body so he could find his balance. Vincent closes the door lightly while putting a gentle loving pressure on Larissa's back that sent unwanted chills down her spine. Nanaki analyzed the newcomer with keen interest. "What do we have here Larissa? Is he by any chance from the North?"

"Why yes he sure is Nanaki, you are very observant. I hope the gang does not mind if he stays for a while. He is from my village." Nanaki stares for a long time in Larissa's eyes before saying, "Splendid, I am sure Marlene and Denzel will love a new playmate. Come this way little boy and I will lead you inside." Maddox holds onto Larissa's hand as she coaxes him to follow Nanaki with Vincent taking up the rear. When they entered Tifa spotted Maddox first before greeting the crew home. "Everyone gather around. Larissa has brought a new person from Edge that happens to be from her village. Lets give him a warm welcome," says Nanaki as the whole group positioned themselves around the boy.

"There is nothing to be afraid of Maddox," whispers Larissa into his ear to comfort him. "Alright everyone," says Larissa to the others, "this little boy here is from Gaia, but I think we will rename it before too long. Anyway his name is Maddox and sometimes we call him Mad Dog because of his raging temper. I hope you will enjoy him as much as I do for a day or two."

"Mad Dog uh, I like it. You seem to be a cool kid," says Barret showing off his huge grin.

"Yeah a new kid to play with," says Marlene and Denzel together.

"Welcome to the team," says Yuffie while Tifa and Cloud gave him a warm huge.

As Larissa smiles calmly a cold mist flashes before her eyes, an angelic voices says, "_We need to talk tonight Larissa, it is very important. Please come see me and Zack." _The voice abruptly fades away from Larissa's hearing and she is brought back to the present. "Larissa are you ok? You looked distracted there for a second," says Cloud while introductions were still being made to Maddox.

"I am fine Cloud, really." Her winning smile seemed to ease Cloud for he smiled back just as big.

Later that night Maddox and the children played board games while the adults relaxed from a long days work. Of course Cloud and Vincent were sitting next to Larissa while Cid and Barret dominated the two seats in front of them. Tifa was laughing with the customers and Yuffie brought a chair over to Larissa's table to join in on their conversation. As for Shelke and Nanaki they were helping Tifa serve along with Reeves and Cait Sith since it was their turn that night.

Once the children were tucked away to dream, Larissa sneaked out of 7th Heaven and headed for the church to talk to Aeris and Zack like she was told to do. When she opened the old oak doors to enter she recognized the glowing life that came from the flowers in the middle of the floor where the pews used to be. Walking steadily toward the heavenly flowers she almost forgets why she has come to the church in the first place. Shaking her head from side to side she gently picks up a pure white flower and enters the Spirit World to meet them.

"Oh I am so glad to see you again Larissa," says Aeris with a pleasant smile. Briefly looking Larissa in her eyes she notices that they are more of a golden color than the clear silver gray she was used to seeing last time. As she continued to glance she also witnessed that her original spirit was not present with the rest of her inhuman body. Zack appears beside Aeris and feels the uneasiness that has sprouted since he arrived to greet Larissa too.

When Zack takes a turn at analyzing Larissa's profile he notices the change in her atmosphere too and begins to feel worried. "Hey Larissa how are you on this fine night? I am happy to see that you came," says Zack cautiously. "Yes it really was not that big of a hassle to be here, now what did you want to discuss with me about?" Larissa's eyes still held that piercing gaze of rage that might explode at any moment. Apparently the wing in her shoulder could not handle the impact of the Spirit World very well.

"Well," says Aeris, "we were wondering if you were going to tell Cloud and the gang about your past with Shinra Inc. before you leave. It seems they have the right to know about it since it might concern them later. Oh and we have not found your original body yet either, we are still looking for it."

Her eyes flared into confusion as she replies, "What original body Aeris? My body is right here, all I have is an extra wing that was implanted into my body for my survival. I do not need to tell them anything since it is none of their business. If they die looking for me that is their problem and I could care less what happens after that. This is one of the reasons why I do not like the human race; their emotions always get in the way of things."

Aeris backed away from Larissa with frightened eyes, and she did not know what to do next while Zack grew angry at her harsh words of his dear friends.

"_What are you talking about? You know very damn well that you love those people more than anything in our miserable world. Do not take away my happiness that I have longed to have and feel ever since I have been put into this body. Remember, because of me you have emotions too." _

"Who the hell are you?! I keep hearing your voice more often than usual these days and I am tired of it. You can not tell me what to do, I will not be controlled," shouts Larissa angrily to herself as Zack sees Larissa's original spirit waking up inside her.

"_I have been trying to control you for many months because your violent behavior would have destroyed everything I hold dear to my heart that you have. It's that wing of yours that is causing so much hatred to infest the brain that is also mine. You are not real, you are only a tool. Get that through your programmed skull!" _

"What?! I do not need you to tell me what is precious and I definitely do not need you to survive. I will cut you out right now if you do not shut up! My wing and body are normal and I am a normal human being. I was never a creation and I will dominate parts of the world that belong to me. Stop interfering in my life!"

"_I dare you to cut me out of your life, and then I could finally die and live in peace. Your body will malfunction in a matter of minutes to where Hojo would call you a failed experiment if he were still alive. I have been a part of you since the beginning of this horrible nightmare and I will take you down with me!" _

Larissa's sword was raised to strike at the spiritual being when Zack leaped forward to stop her. His powerful muscular hands pulled the long sword away from her grasp and he slid it across the misty floor. Shaking her shoulders Zack shouts, "Larissa what is wrong with you?! You are not the nice girl who I used to visit in the labs when Hojo would not let you out or when we went on that long walk in the courtyard. Larissa don't you remember this?"

Zack takes his left hand while grabbing Larissa's right and molds them together for her to remember the jester he did each time he came to visit. Larissa's eyes flickered from the gold to the clear silver he remembers and her eyes started to water. "How could I ever forget the boy who would visit and listen to me? I am so sorry, what I said is ludicrous. This wing of mine is getting worse and I am afraid I will not remember anything once it fully develops. I will be a violent being who will be an assassin like I used to be," says Larissa quietly as tears began to fall down her pale strained face.

"No worries here Larissa, I will come to you when that happens and awaken your deep memories to live for the sake of others. Hojo loved to manipulate people in believing in self and those who opposed them was wrong instead of different. And I will not be the only one that will help you, Aeris would be more than happy to do so," says Zack reassuringly to Larissa.

Larissa smiled briefly before her eyes changed back to the golden bronze of hatred. She says harshly to Zack, "What are these so called tears on my cheeks for? I have no weak emotions of a mortal such as the ones on Earth. Why are you touching me Zack? Does my presence compel you that much to reach out for me? I have to say that it is not very flattering since you are dead."

Appalled Zack slaps Larissa across the face, leaving a brutal red streak where he left his angry mark. "Zack are you crazy?! Don't provoke her to do anything destructive in the Spirit World; we could be banned from talking to the regular world if anything should happen," says Aeris frantically as she walks over to Larissa to see if she was normal.

"It's ok Aeris, I am fine and I really needed that from Zack. I will tell Cloud and them before I leave so they know what to expect. My spirit will be able to tell them, I will make sure of it. I better be going now or I will never get enough sleep to arrange my thoughts. Good night to you all," says Larissa as she nears the portal to go back to Midgar. From the church she left for 7th Heaven, prepared to let her spirit do the talking, even though they will be sad to see her leave.


	14. Departing for Now

**Thanks to the Iliad by Homer I found the city named Lycia and decided to use it here, hope you all like it. **

Throughout most of the night Larissa went to the cliff where Zack's buster sword stuck out of the ground. She allowed her spirit to take over her inhuman body for a few minutes to see what the experience would feel like. The sensation was brutal because of her wing; it was rebelling against the transformation. Forcing all of her strength into her body Larissa was able to cause her spirit to appear in front of the body she inhabited. When she looked into the ocean over the cliff's edge she saw the illuminating glow of the soul that controlled her life at this point. It bothered her to feel restrained and she expressed this by saying to herself, "I want to be free of you, yet you say I need this kind of energy to survive. Since I am letting you take control of the situation can I make a suggestion?"

"Sure, why not? You have as much right to say anything as I do right now. But remember that we are both named Larissa and it will continue to be that way," says Larissa to the inhuman body. With a deep irritating sigh she replies, "Fine have it your way as usual. My suggestion would be to kill them all off after we tell them our secret. Why should they remain alive anyway? If a word leaks out to the Turks that hang around them, we will be in deep over our heads."

"Why is it that when we have a problem you resort to violence? We are not going to kill them, but you do have a point when it comes to the Turks. I would never slaughter those people who have become my loving friends. Why don't you see it that way?"

Larissa turns her head and faces the person she has become over the years to see a hint of sadness mixed with anger as she says, "The only friend I ever had, Shinra destroyed when he tried to escape. He is no longer here to tell me that everything will be okay or the actions I take are not too harsh for others to understand. Once the so called friends of yours know about our situation they will abandon us completely, just like the rest of the world. No one has ever tried to help us before except him."

"You honestly don't believe in that do you? People can change," Larissa says quietly to herself. "It seems you were not awake when I woke up to see what that damn scientist did to me. Threatening me with a tranquilizer, a tranquilizer! Can you even image that? A person with my power threatened by a green liquid in a tube," says her body sarcastically.

"You are right; I was not awake until here recently. It was when my new friends showed me to feel and to live on, even though I am not fully human. In any case I will be talking to them today without any interference from you. They need to understand where we are coming from and what happened. No killing until necessary, which I hope does not come to that," says Larissa firmly.

Her body just shrugs her broad shoulders as she peers at the buster sword with deep hatred of what Shinra did to society as a whole. Her weak hand touched the blade with sweet affection for the one man who once possessed it. Larissa's spirit says to her body, "He still thinks of you from time to time, he always will." Her body continues to stare at the sword until her hollow eyes look at her spirit. "You really think so?"

"I know for a fact that he does," says Larissa soothingly. Looking out at the ocean again her spirit began to ache. She doubled over unexpectedly into the sand until her body reached out to catch her before she fell off the edge. "What is wrong? I think if we had a problem I would know about it to." Her spirit rose up to reveal the cuts that Hojo did on his surgery. The head was splitting open where the mad scientist had taken out her brain and her chest was opening up to reveal the missing heart that she needed to survive. Quickly her body embraced her impaired spirit back into it before it floated off into the Spirit World. "It looks like we are in deeper than I thought. I guess I will do all of the talking for you. I plan it to be clean and simple, no major details will be allowed."

"Yes that would be the best way to handle this. I wish I could do it though, it would be much warmer. Promise me that you will go easy on them, I know for a fact that we will need them later."

"Ok, I can promise to a certain extend. I think it is time to head back now and tell them everything since it looks like about 8 or 9'oclock in the morning." Rising from the cliff Larissa gathers herself back together and heads for the inevitable meeting that needed to take place as soon as possible. Entering the swinging doors of 7th Heaven she sees that the Turks have come in for an early breakfast from Tifa instead of the diner on the corner of Fair Street. The whole crew this morning consisted of Reno, Rude, Elena, and Tseng that ate fried eggs and hash browns with a deep cup of dark, pure coffee.

Tseng gazes at who enters through the front doors and instantly spits out his coffee all over the countertop in surprise of the least likely person he would ever bump into. He continues to stare at Larissa until he could not handle the temptation to grab her to see if she was actually the girl he remembered so long ago. Rising hastily from his chair he tries to head up the stairs when Vincent blocks his way. 'No Turks are allowed upstairs as a number one rule from Avalanche. Besides do you need something?' questions Vincent because of the way Tseng expression took on a desperate look.

"Well Vincent you cannot just hog the whole hall here. I need to get by so I can check on Maddox and the others at the park since Tifa is too busy to do so. Do you mind?" Tseng moves swiftly out of Vincent's way to see Larissa's figure more properly. She did not even set her eyes on Tseng as she passed Vincent for the front door, she only waved goodbye to everyone before leaving.

After Larissa exited 7th Heaven Tseng rushed out right behind her, not caring if Vincent or anyone else would try to stop him. Running at top speed through Midgar he finally caught up with Larissa entering the little gate that led to the new park for children. Tseng stops to catch his breath at the edge of the gate and says hoarsely, "Larissa wait."

Larissa freezes in place from the familiar voice that reached her ears so clearly, yet so far away. Turning around to face the man who called her name she sees Tseng as her friend from many years ago. Not knowing what to do next, Tseng subconsciously opens up the gate to reach Larissa on the other side. Walking crookedly toward her he leans against the sleek aluminum pole that is part of the jungle gym. Larissa decides to close the gap between them by strolling closer to him and resting her body on the opposite side.

"What brings you here old friend? Do not tell me that Shinra has ordered you on another wild chase for me," says Larissa jokingly to the exhausted Tseng. Laughing quietly he says, "Well hello to you too friend. As a matter of fact I am on business for Shinra to investigate you. I thought you might want to know that up front."

Shrugging her shoulders indifferently she says to him, "I am not surprised they have not done so since my incident in Nibelheim. The funny thing is that they will never be able to find a damn thing on me. Everything has been erased or destroyed. I am the only one who knows it all." She starts to laugh aloud at Shinra's desperate efforts to search for something that will be impossible to find.

Tseng laughs with her in relief to know that his long lost friend was still normal as she could be. "That is why I took the job to investigate you; I really wanted to know if you were alive somewhere on this miserable earth. I will not tell them anything since Rufus pissed me off so badly the other day. I love to hold out on them, it brings me great joy."

"Well now that is something to celebrate over, what did he do? I am sure it is not as worse as what I put you through most of our time together," says Larissa charmingly. "That is not important. The important thing is that you are here and that we might have a huge problem later on. If Shinra does not have anything on you after a period of time they will most likely try to capture you again like in the old days. Quite honestly we might have to fight them off…again," Tseng says matter-of-factly.

"Now if you do not mind me asking, who is this "we"? I do not plan on Avalanche fighting for me; I think I can handle it." Walking closer to Larissa, Tseng whispers in her ear, "I am the other person who is part of the "we". Whatever you say I will do because we both helped each other out one way or another in that hell whole. It still is like that today, but being the inside man is way more fun than the regular gunman. Will you let me do it?"

Larissa gazed into his dark black eyes and agreed for his help since it would be way too boring if she did not include him in the game. "Well when do you want to start Tseng? I have to tell you though that Avalanche will know everything before I leave to rebuild the village Sephiroth burned. You can attend the meeting if you want to, but if you decide to back out and leek any information I will have to eliminate you. Is that clear?"

Stroking her hair like he did on that day he says, "I would not have it any other way Larissa." They walked together over to the children to see if everything was ok. Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox, were playing on the stainless steel fort that was donated to them by one of the children's foundation. "Maddox, it's time to go back to the diner! We will be leaving in a little while. Marlene and Denzel you two come also, we can all have lunch together," shouts Larissa to the children at play.

"Ok, coming Miss Larissa," said the children as they climb off the fort toward her to go back to see Tifa and the others. "I cannot believe we are going back today! Hey Marlene and Denzel, you guys should visit us once we redo the village. Its gonna look great," says Maddox excitedly. Maddox stops suddenly to look at Tseng for a few seconds before allowing him to walk by Larissa. Tseng waves a hand for them to go ahead, so he could take up the rear for protective reasons. The children run off to see Tifa at the front door while Tseng caught Larissa's arm and said, "If you are going to the village then I am going with you. I can just tell them that I am observing you for anything suspicious. Rufus should love that idea." Giving Tseng a friendly smile she accepts his offer.

Once inside the door of 7th Heaven, the children run in at full speed to the counter for their lunch. Tifa hands them their meal in shock of how hastily they want to eat. "Why are you all in a hurry to eat? Slow down and enjoy it," says Tifa. "We have to hurry because Maddox is leaving soon. We want to play with him and give him some souvenirs before he goes," says Marlene as Denzel has an eating contest with Maddox. Tifa peers at Larissa who nods her head in approval to Marlene's statement.

After the children ate Larissa suggested that they should play upstairs for a little while before they left. Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox all ran up the stairs in a flash to play for a few more hours. Tseng signals for Elena, Reno, and Rude to go around Midgar to check on things, he would meet with up with them later. He continued to stay close to Larissa while they went out the doors, hearing Reno whine again through the oncoming crowd. "Are you ready Larissa?" asks Tseng. "Yes I think it is time, come everyone to the board room. I have many things to tell, most of it will be very unpleasant."

Vincent and Cloud saw the sudden closeness of Tseng and Larissa and that made them uneasy. Everyone filed in as Larissa took the top spot at the long wooden table filled with small creaking chairs. When all were seated Tseng stood beside Larissa's right side, which looked like moral support. When Barret saw this he said, "I don't see why you have to be here Tseng. Aren't you supposed to be out in Midgar killing people or something?" Tseng remained silent at Barret's remark of a Turk's life. Larissa smiled and said to Tseng, "If only you had escaped with me, you would have had a better reputation than that. Oh well such as life." Tseng had to chuckle too at the golden opportunity that he missed out on so long ago.

Everyone else seated quickly and remained completely quiet to hear what Larissa had to say. "Alright Avalanche, I am about to tell you confidential information on myself that must not leave this area or your mouths for that matter. If you break this vital rule I will have to end your life and believe me, you will not be able to survive my wrath no matter how strong you are. There is no gentle, sugar-coated way to say this, but lucky for you all I will be brief. Do we all understand each other?"

They all nodded in understanding, yet felt anxious to know what they would have to protect for the rest of their lives. "Ok let's begin. I am not completely human, which you people should be aware of by now. I was created for the Jenova Project, but my human body failed. Hojo implanted my brain and heart from my original body to this new form, and her I stand before you as Sephiroth's other half except more powerful. As you have all noticed when I came here that I have similar characteristics as he does and even more. We also have a wing embedded in our backs, his on the left as black and mine is on the right as white. I was the back up if his precious son should fail in whatever he was supposed to do. I even did side jobs for the Turks when they were not quick enough to dispose certain people that Shinra did not like. An assassin if you will, just thinking about it now almost equals the loathing I have for Sephiroth who used to rape me continuously when I first met him. Anyway, Sephiroth wants my body so he can come back into full power and to top it off Shinra Inc. is investigating me. Apparently the incident of me blowing up the Shinra Mansion caused a disturbance with President Rufus. Shinra knows nothing of this and this way until necessary."

Turning to Tseng she says, "Tseng that will be your cue to sell me if your life is on the line. I need you to live; you are the only criminal I have inside that corrupted business. And about your offer, I have to reconsider. You will only check up on me, but you must remain with Rufus so as to not draw too much attention to our situation. If war is what Rufus wants then he will receive it with full force of many deaths and the fall of his corporation."

Facing the other again Larissa continues to say, "I am leaving today to restore the village and will mostly likely stay there when it is finished. This battle I face is mine and partially Tseng. You cannot and will not help me fight unless you like this sort of thing. That is it, I am done. Oh and this battle will be pointless for you once Sephiroth and I come together. Whatever happens during and after that is out of your control. You will have to deal with it your own way somehow."

Larissa at that moment gripped the chair with a violent force that left an imprint in the gorgeous mahogany woodwork. Suddenly another woman's voice says, _"__You are so cruel to these people who have given you their hospitality. Why must you treat others like trash, does their company really mean nothing to you? You could have at least told them about me being alive inside your hollow limbs of a body. It might clarify some things that are confusing them." _

"Why must you interfere with me and what I want to do as usual? How else am I going to tell them, by lying and saying that everything will be ok, that we may all live? It is too late to lie about such things now since Shinra is on the move and Sephiroth is becoming impatient. You know what we have to do and you still seem to think we can change it. Our fate is sealed, get used to it," says Larissa savagely to herself as a faint outline of a woman with many cuts and bruises shines through for everyone to see.

The chair collapsed into dust at Larissa's feet as the spirit continued to shine forward for a clearer picture of the original woman who had such a promising life. Vincent rose from his seat and walked cautiously over to Larissa to see if the spirit was indeed real. _"You must be Vincent, _says the spirit of Larissa, _I have enjoyed your company just as much as the rest of you. I am Larissa the unsent soul of this miserable body. The reason why this body is so hostel is because of the abuse it has gone through and the wing is causing some malfunctions. The development of it is fast approaching, it seems only a month or two before destruction will happen or maybe we will be lucky to suppress some of the power within. Either way be prepared and good luck in finding your own way of survival. I am sorry for what I have done to your lives and hopefully you will all forgive me or at least forget my existence. I just know it will be over very soon." _

That is all Larissa's spirit could say to them because the Spirit World began to call her to their gates. Luckily her body was able to drag her back inside where she could be safe from death for a little while longer. As for Larissa's eyes, they changed randomly again like a slot machine until they finally focused on her golden eerie color of brown. Breathing heavily Larissa says, "Now you have an idea of what I face and remember to keep it here, keep it safe. If Rufus ever has a hold on this kind of information he will have a field day. There is still a way for the scientists in the lab to take control of me in some way or form. I have just been informed by Tseng that they have found an old dissolved file of how to do this by Hojo himself. Ahh, this pain is becoming unbearable."

Larissa continued to shake compulsively against the table since the chair vanished from under her fingertips of solid white. Tseng knew the drill of Larissa's condition very well and quickly took hold of her trembling body to try and balance the power flowing freely through her veins. After a few minutes she calmed down in Tseng's mighty embrace where she could breathe normally.

When her spirit became whole with her body again she began to speak. "What she says is true. This wing of mine is a serious problem that I cannot control. I probably will not recognize any of you once this monster develops inside me. Do not take it to heart personally I guess. You cannot change my form, but I will be pleased on the outcome. Either way if we communicate at all it will be business concerning supplies. Midgar besides Rocket Town are the only places with the best lumber and other materials. We should make our parting simple regardless of our strong emotions. The best way to do that would be to erase me from your memories, and then we can all move on with our lives."

Her body continued to flinch as Tseng held her in his arms gently like a father to a helpless child. "This is outrageous! I will not stand idly by and watch you suffer. You are very valuable to me and my heart says that I should help. Don't push us away from you now, this is your darkest hour," says Vincent earnestly.

"Vincent's right," says Cloud, "We need to stay together and I too will never erase you from my memory. Even though your heart is cold, I can at least warm it with kindness and love, we all can. As a group we will always keep you near, won't you do the same for us?"

Larissa gazed at everyone and realized that these people were actually sincere in their speech. Breathing in deeply she replies, "I will try my best after the transformation, is that enough?" They all nodded their heads in agreement and Cloud says, "Yes that is enough to reassure us for a little while, thank you."

'When will this transformation begin Larissa?' asks Nanaki quietly in the corner of the board room by the window. "I fear it will come by the end of this year, much faster than I had hoped. I tried using shots of some kind of liquid from my old laboratory to reduce the swelling, but it failed terribly. It caused me to have morning sickness on odd occasions. I at least am lucky enough to finish the village on time," she says with a hint of hope in her hardened voice.

'You can count on us to be there with you when that happens. I know for a fact that I will not leave you just because you tell me to. What do the rest of you guys think?' asks Cloud. "I agree wholeheartedly with Cloud on this one Larissa," says Reeves, "We will keep everything safe for you and that's a promise." Yuffie suddenly jumps up and says, "Woo! Another adventure we can all do as a group again. I can't wait to get started."

"I'm game," says Cid when at the same time Barret says, "Bring those Shinra bastards on!" Nanaki growled in approval for himself as well as Shelke and Vincent continued to walk closer to Larissa to see how she was feeling. She looked at him with blank eyes as she says to him, "Do not waste your time concerning yourself with my health. It will be what it is made to be and I have done pretty well so far. I think I should leave you all now with Maddox, I will be in contact with most of you in a few days. Goodbye everyone who thought I would last forever in your presence."

Larissa, followed by Tseng, left the board room with little noise from the all too familiar squeak of the door. Vincent along with rest of the crew felt heartbroken by her departure of coldness that they were not used to. Hearing her faint voice from the diner entrance they heard her cry, "Maddox! We are leaving now, say goodbye to everyone." Maddox came streaming down the stairs from Marlene and Denzel's room with a duffle bag full of little toys and other trickles that filled him with joy. "Thank you Marlene and Denzel for giving Maddox gifts before we set out on our project, hopefully you all can visit the town when we are finished," says Larissa as her final farewell to Midgar and its wonderful inhabitants.

Filing out of the board room, Avalanche walked toward the front of the diner to see Larissa and Maddox off. "Bye everyone," says Maddox, "I hope we can play again real soon. Come on Miss Larissa lets go home and what are we going to call our new home anyway?" Smiling brilliantly Larissa replies, "We are going to call it the town of Lycia. What do you think Maddox?" His little face lit up like a field full of fireflies as he said to her, "That is a wonderful name Miss Larissa. I think the people back home will love it too. Come lets go already, they are all waiting for us."

Strolling out of the door of 7th Heaven, Tseng came to Larissa and said, "I want you to have this cell phone so we can keep in touch. It has everyone's cell number including Cloud's entire group. I will call you periodically to update your investigation and where Rufus stands. Please take my car with you to your destination. I can always have a new one anytime for any reason, take care." Resting an elegant hand on Tseng's shoulder she thanked him quietly while Maddox immediately opened the passenger seat to sit inside the new vehicle. Waving to everyone else Larissa took the car keys from Tseng's slender hand and opened the driver's seat to start the engine of the new Audi A4 that had just come in from Shinra Inc.

The beautiful, sleek Audi came to life instantly and Larissa shifted into drive and drove down the lane toward the exit of Midgar, giving one last wave and a honk before disappearing in the distance. Back at the door Marlene began to cry silently and Denzel instinctively wrapped his arm around her tiny shoulders to comfort her. Vincent leaned against the now pealing panel from the front porch of 7th Heaven and Cloud took up the other side with deep sadness equal to his.

Tseng motioned for his crew to come back with him to Shinra Inc. to finish the report of Larissa's departure from Midgar. 'When do you think we will see her again?' asks Denzel shyly. "I would give it a few weeks Denz," says Cid, "She is bound to need supplies right away because of the time limit she is under. I will go to Rocket Town in a few days to see how the progress on Lycia is going." Everyone else filed back inside to run errands or other activities that needed to be done. They did not realize how much Larissa impacted their lives in just a few months, with her presence gone it seemed like an eternal night had fallen on them all. It would be at least a month or two before they would hear from her again. All they could do now is wait for a reply, which was something that made them extremely impatient.


	15. Two Months into Construction

It seemed like a lifetime before the gang heard from Larissa again. On a cool fall day in November a letter came in the mail addressed to Tifa along with everyone else's name on the brittle brown envelope. Marlene was the one who discovered the letter when it was her turn to retrieve the mail. Running in hastily she says breathlessly, "Tifa! Here is a letter from Miss Larissa. Quick, gather everyone together so we can read it aloud."

Tifa quickly took out her black razor and text messaged everyone to come to the diner to see what Larissa's letter had to say. Outside came a roaring stampede of feet as the door to 7th Heaven sprang open to let in Cloud, Vincent, Barret, Yuffie, and Reeves with Cait Sith. Nanaki and Shelke came in through the back way because they were at the Midgar lab working on odd and end things for fun. Denzel was already at the countertop with Marlene waiting for Tifa to open up the message Larissa had sent them.

She took the one sheet of paper out of the crumbled envelope very carefully and cleared her throat so she could read the letter properly. Larissa wrote:

_Dear Avalanche, _

_How is everyone doing back in Midgar? The progress for Lycia is going well and right on schedule. Cid could not be anymore resourceful than he already is, he sends his love by the way. We have built the convenient stores back to its original form, but with a modern edge to them this time. The houses are next along with the hotel and certain landscape items that the people want. I will try to visit you all very soon if I can with Maddox since he has been dieing to see Marlene and Denzel again. Let's see, what else was I supposed to tell you… Oh if it is not too much trouble, I was wondering if I could pick up some seeds from the flowers growing in the church. Or maybe Aeris's house would be a better location to gather them. I think they would look lovely by the trees and the entrance to our town. Well anyway I will see you all in a few days or so. _

_With Love, Larissa _

Tifa turned the letter over and over to see if she missed anything that Larissa might have not put in writing. She even doubled check the murky brown envelope to see if anything else was inside and discovered there was nothing left to look at. 'That is all she said?' asks Cloud disappointedly. "It sure seems like it. Marlene, Denzel, why don't you two go off and play now. There seems to be nothing left of Miss Larissa's letter to us, we will just have to wait until she gets here," say Tifa. Nodding there heads in understanding; they jumped from their seats and ran outside to play with the other neighborhood kids by the fountain.

Once the children left Vincent says, "She has said nothing about her condition. I bet it took all her strength to write that letter in such a civil tone. What are we going to do when she gets here? I can't believe Cid has not sent us word of what is going on in Lycia and Larissa."

"Hey wait a minute; do you think he sent us a text message or something? I haven't checked my phone in a few days," says Yuffie with a thoughtful look on her face. Immediately everyone pulled out their cell phones to see if Cid left anything that they might have overlooked, but sadly found nothing. Then Yuffie's cell went off to reveal Cid's number on her caller id.

"Oh what great timing, Cid is calling me right now! Come on everyone lets go into the board room so I can put him on speaker phone."

The group went into the board room hastily waiting to hear what Cid had to say about Lycia and Larissa too. Hooking up the cord to the speaker, Yuffie presses the enter key to let Cid through to them back in Midgar.

"Hey Cid what have you been up too? Everyone here is dieing to know what is going on in Lycia. How are Larissa and yourself by the way?" asks Yuffie promptly.

"Wow Yuffie slow down girl and let this man take in everything that you just said. Ok hey everyone back in Midgar. The construction on Lycia is going great so far and the people are really helpful and kind. I wish I could say the same for Larissa though. That wing is causing major problems."

"What do you mean?" asks Nanaki.

"I mean that she is extra bitchy these days Red. I have to make all the orders when she says or she will harm my people and that really don't sit right with me, no sir. Not to mention the constant surprises of her mood. Larissa scares the shit out of me most of the time while I'm there. I have been in Rocket Town for most of the construction; I only go there to check on certain things like buildings and layouts."

"Really? Well her letter sure doesn't reveal that she is having difficulty at all. She seems pretty normal," says Tifa concerned.

"What the hell are you talking about Tifa? There is no way she could have sent a letter or even written one in her state of mind. I am telling you that she is losing it over here."

"Well we have one right here in front of us Cid. By the way, why has it taken you so long to report to us about her condition? If you were right here I would rip you apart," says Vincent threateningly.

"I am trying to avoid the same thing over here and excuse me Dracula but I can't just call whenever she is around. Her paranoia has risen like double or triple since I got here with my working crew. She thinks someone is out to get her, which technically is true at this point, but I doubt he would come out right now. The people are getting worried and I don't know what to do about it. I think the wing is going to come out earlier than expected; we might have to go to Tseng to see what can be done. I'm afraid she might wipe out everyone in her site and you know that ain't good."

"Damn it! What are we going to do about this mess that just keeps getting bigger and bigger? Maybe we should kill her now while we still have the chance. I mean she is vulnerable, right?" asks Barett.

"I wish we could do that Barett, but I am afraid that she might get wind of it and kill us instead in her rampage. Where is that grease monkey of a Turk anyway? Is he anywhere near you guys?"

"No Cid he is off in Nibelheim investigating the fallen mansion further with Rufus. I don't know when he will be back, but I think we should come and visit for a little while to check on things," says Cloud.

"How can we do that when she is coming here in a few days Cloud? We can't just leave before telling her or something like that," says Tifa informatively.

"She's coming there?! Since when? I tell you this is so fucked up and I really don't want to get my ass kicked over something minor by you guys coming here. Just sit tight until I talk to her first. Damn, I am so confused on what to do now. Thanks a lot guys."

"Hey it's not our fault that she is like this Cid. Maybe Barett is right, we should get rid of her, even though I really don't want too," says an exasperated Yuffie.

"We do not have that kind of option Yuffie. She is the only one who can dispose of Sephiroth from this world completely. We are going to have to sit this one out, sorry Cid," says Nanaki.

"Naw Red it's ok. I hear what you're sayin' and I wish I could help her in some way. Well besides all of that drama I wonder who wrote the letter for her."

"That's what I would like to know," says Reeves, "You think it could have been Maddox or someone like that?"

"It couldn't have been Maddox because his handwriting is not this neat. And I bet the other children could not write this well either. Maybe it was one of the townspeople," says Tifa resourcefully.

"No, it was her spirit," says Vincent, "I can tell where she had trouble writing on the edges of each letter. She must have let her spirit take control in order to write and function on certain tasks."

"That would explain how she is managing out here with these people. Well at least we are almost done and then I can come back to Midgar with you guys for a while. I am telling you, hearing her talk in her sleep and stifling her screams is horrifying. Shelke is there some kind of drug we could give Larissa?"

"No I am afraid not. That is what I have been working on, but all the files on her being are lost like she said. We would have to experiment on her and I know that is not going to happen. I think we are at the end of our rope here," Shelke says sadly.

Everyone else in the room groaned in misery of what to do with Larissa's state and the oncoming disaster of her wrath. Then they heard footsteps from Cid's side of the phone.

"Mr. Highwind there you are. We just got a message from Larissa and she is coming to Rocket Town to see you. Come meet her at the gate she is almost here," said the architect urgently.

"Oh shit! I gotta go everyone, just stay put and don't do anything I wouldn't do. Oh and I will try to call you guys later, but it might take a few days or so. Later."

There was a click and Cid hung up, the deafening dial tone filled the hollow room with deadly silence. "Damn! I cannot stand to sit here and know that Larissa is struggling like she wanted to. This is going to drive me more insane than I already am," says Vincent angrily with his hands balling up into tight fists of rage.

"I could not agree with you more Vincent," says Cloud, "But what can we do except wait on her to come back to Midgar? I can only hope that she will try to explain herself better if we are lucky."

Since that bizarre, troubling conversation with Cid, the gang waited endless for Larissa to show up at their door in a distorted condition. Many days went by before a dark vehicle drove up to 7th Heaven. Tifa just thought it was Tseng or some other Turk coming in for a bite to eat and did not think anything of it until she saw a white hand hanging off of the open car door. Cloud was at the counter at the time and glanced in the same direction as Tifa to see what the problem was. When he saw the white hand too he immediately ran out the front door to see if that white hand could possibly belong to Larissa.

When Cloud made it outside he looked into the car and saw a disturbing site. Larissa's once radiant body had turned into a spoiled milky color, drained of life completely. Anyone could tell she had not eaten in days by the way her frame had sunken in and the dark purple circles under her eyes made her look broken beyond repair. The bulge on her right shoulder had the appearance of sprouting out any day now with enormous pain to follow. Her posture slumped in the divine leather seat of the vehicle, which showed how drained her life really was by the development of the wing.

Cloud felt awed and confused of what or what not to do for Larissa. The decision was finally made when she raised herself out of the car with tremendous effort. Cloud instinctively took her feeble hand and guided Larissa out with little complications. She looked into his clear luminous blue eyes, but did not do anything else. She truly felt like a decomposing body just waiting to rest in peace.

After a few moments she gazed around 7th Heaven in search for something by the look of it. Then she asked Cloud, "Where is Tseng? I need to speak to him right away." He stared in terror at the change of her once angelic voice of happiness. It now possessed nothing; any kind of emotion seemed to be lost. "I will tell Tifa to phone him immediately. He is still in Nibelheim right now with Rufus. Come inside and I will get you something to drink," Cloud says quietly.

Behind him he heard a motorcycle pull up by his and it was Vincent back from his errand. Seeing Larissa he froze in place. He had never seen such a distorted figure in his life and he thought he had it rough with Chaos. Rushing forward Vincent's eyes grew even wider at what the wing had done to her. Apparently Cid was telling the full truth instead of half this time. Larissa was really in horrible shape and needed help fast.

"Larissa, what can I do for you? Please tell me something, anything and I will do it," says Vincent pleadingly. Larissa looks into his evolving crimson eyes, yet her whole body continued to not respond to anyone in particular. "Vincent she wants to talk to Tseng now. I was going to take her into 7th Heaven and we could call him from there. Come with me and we can try to sort all this stuff out together," says Cloud hopefully. Vincent opened the old wooden door to let Cloud and Larissa inside to see Tifa at the counter cleaning as usual for this time of day.

All the people stared at Larissa's presence with mixed emotions of pity and apprehension. Tifa had a plate in her hand at the same time they approached the counter. When she looked up to see who had just come into the diner she dropped it to the floor at Larissa's state. Good thing the plate was plastic instead of the good china they use on special occasions, which would have caused more problems to the already terrify situation. "Tifa could you get Tseng on the phone for Larissa, it is very urgent." Obeying Cloud's request she rushed to the black business phone on the wall by the bulletin board for deliveries.

"Let me speak to him once you have him on the phone. I do not have much time to wait around here," says Larissa hollowly. Tifa shivered slightly at Larissa's new voice of corruption while she dialed the number hastily. Suddenly Tseng answered the phone with, "Yes what is it? This had better be good." Tifa took a deep breath and said, "Larissa has just arrived back in Midgar and she would like to talk to you right now." There was some rumbling before Tseng replied, "Are you serious? She is back in Midgar already huh, ok put her on the phone." She motioned for Larissa to come to the phone and she moved quite swiftly than what they thought she was capable of doing right now.

Grabbing the receiver away from Tifa hostilely she says, "What have you been doing in Nibelheim all this time? You know you will not find too much out there or have you?" Laughing lightly he says to her, "You are right of course that we have not found anything on the surface so we are going to dig underground to see if Hojo left something of importance that might concern you. How are you holding up?"

"You should see me Tseng. I have lost almost all of my weight, I have lost sleep because of the nightmares, and I have lost the will of my body to nothing put a hollow shell of some sort. It is quite flattering to see the reaction of people and how I am dissolving right in front of their eyes. But you still have found nothing in that mansion?"

"I see that you need some medical attention of some sort, I will be there in a few minutes if you can wait that long. And like I said earlier we have found nothing at the mansion yet. Why do you ask, is there something I should be looking for?" An awkward silence met Tseng on the other side of the phone until he ended it by saying, "What is it Larissa? Tell me and I will find it and keep it with me for you to see. Rufus will never have it, I promise." Taking a wispy breath she whispers, "I think my original body might be under the mansion somewhere in a white freezer coffin. Whatever happens do not let Rufus discover this before you do. If you do find it I want you to put it in the Midgar freezer in the back room of the research lab. I will examine it later and think of what to do with it next, just please keep it safe."

Tseng did not know what to say at this vital information, but he quickly added, "I will Larissa, you can count on me for that. I am still coming and I will bring along some medication for your depleting health. See you in a few, bye."

"Bye Tseng," says Larissa and she hangs up the phone into the cradle. Turning to Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent she says, "Tseng is coming to see me in a few minutes with some medication. From then we will discuss what to do next about this developing problem."

"Would you like to rest for a while Larissa, just until Tseng gets here at least," suggests Tifa. "No I will sit at the counter and wait for him. His speed is remarkable when I tell him my condition is poor. When he says a few minutes it literally means a few minutes. Do what you want though I do not need anyone to sit with me."

Vincent took the seat by her left side while Cloud took the right and they all sat there with her as Tifa went back to the oncoming customers. As Vincent sat there he started to notice the same things Cloud did, especially the hump where the wing was coming in. Anger filled his soul of what Hojo has done, yet more of the anger was aimed toward him for not being able to stop it. Just then the familiar black Audi TT came rolling up beside the car Larissa drove into Midgar. Tseng sprang from the driver's seat and opened up the door to 7th Heaven with a slight bang to reveal the dead glow of Larissa sitting in between Cloud and Vincent at the counter.

"What the hell has happened to you Larissa?" Tseng stood there amazed at what an implant of Hojo's creation can do to a person. "That is not the point right now Tseng, tell me what you have found so far in Nibelheim? Have you discovered any strange activity around there?"

"Not that I have found so far Larissa. I have brought with me a vaccine that should reduce some of the pain hopefully. Please take it," Tseng says encouragingly. Larissa eyes the liquid shot very carefully before taking it out of Tseng's hands and injecting it straight into her right arm where the wing was bulging forth. The movement was quick and smooth without any noise from her, not even a groan or a possible scream. After the liquid entered her body nothing happened at first. Giving it a few seconds she felt a wave of immense pain shoot through her body to where she vomited all of the medication out of her decaying system. The green liquid splashed all over the floor with a mixture of a red substance that was her blood.

Larissa instinctively waved her hands over the mess and in an instant it disappeared from their site. Wiping the bile from her mouth she says to Tseng, "Well it looks like I am beyond any repair now. It's ok Tseng, you do not have to bring anything else and neither should the rest of you. Anyway do any of you know where the head of the lumber and supplies could be located? Rocket Town has fallen short of some material that I need to complete Lycia before the harsh winter comes."

"I will contact them for you Larissa, just stay here I will be right back." Tseng leaves the room momentarily to make the calls while she tries to pull herself together. At that moment Marlene and Denzel come in to see what all the commotion was about. When they see Larissa, Marlene says, "Miss Larissa! I did know you were here. Where is Maddox?"

Larissa's eyes glowed menacingly at Marlene that caused her to cower away from them toward Tifa at the doorway. She responds to Marlene, "Maddox is back in Lycia and will probably remain there as far as I know. I do not see why you would ask such a question, I am not his mother. I do not take him everywhere I go because that would be annoying."

Marlene burst into tears and ran to find Denzel who took her in his arms to comfort her displeasure. Tifa looked at Larissa and noticed that she could care less what she did to people as long as they did not interfere in her plans or being. A characteristic so much like Sephiroth's that it scared her of what will happen in a few months time. Tseng enters the room again and witnesses Marlene crying silently in Denzel's arms by Tifa's side and says to Larissa, "I have made all the arrangements of the supplies you will need. All you have to do is go back to Lycia to tell them what to do with it. Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?"

"No that will be all Tseng, thanks. I will be talking to you again very shortly I am sure. Take care." The new voice of Larissa also pushed Tseng the wrong way, as if all the happiness he knew was being drained from his slender body onto the floor. Walking in front of her he takes his all too familiar hand and gently strokes Larissa's hair before departing back to Nibelheim to look for her body.

For the rest of the day Larissa kept to herself in Vincent's room, looking out the window at the carefree citizens who she envied everyday. Later on that night she rose from the creaky bed in his room and decided to take a midnight stroll. Gliding down the stairs she opened the door with ease and left it open as she went out to the now quiet streets of Midgar. Larissa's body seemed to have developed a mind of its own, for it led her to the peaceful church not too far from 7th Heaven.

When she opened the door she saw the moonlight shining beautifully on the flowers full of life and promises. Larissa walked longingly toward them, but had some difficulty moving her feet because of the strong power of the Life Stream that wanted to engulf her. Her body repeatedly bumped and clashed with the pews scattered everywhere around those ominous flowers, yet she continued to reach for them. Finally approaching the edge of the little field, Larissa suddenly dropped to her knees in agonizing sorrow. Being too weak to stand up again, she crawled to the middle of the glowing white flowers and collapsed face first into their heavenly splendor.

Up above Zack looks down into the church and sees Larissa in the worst shape he has ever seen. Gasping in horror he decides to go down to try to comfort her in any way he can. Floating down easily, Zack appears at Larissa's head and reaches out to pull her up into a decent sitting position. Larissa feels his touch and tries to break away so she could see his face more properly, but fails because of her lack of strength.

"Zack is that you?" Larissa asks feebly into the moonlit area of the church where she lay.

"_Yes it is me Larissa. Let me help you sit up at least,"_ he says softly. His arms seemed to be able to support Larissa as he tried to lift her up slowly. She also tried to muster up all of her strength to help Zack, but fell short into his transparent arms. When she landed into his chest, he held her there for a long time. Larissa's body still felt brittle and frail, even though he was a spirit from Heaven.

Seeing her misery Zack began to cry soundlessly over her dull light brown hair. Feeling the hot tears dripping down her head she says, "Why does everyone cry over my misery? It is not their burden to bear, yet they continue to cry a silent trail of tears. Tell me, why do you do it too?" Zack took his left hand and whipped his tears away as he replied, _"Because I love you more than you know as a companion. When we were in Shinra together we held onto each other to survive when we could. I was too young and naïve then to understand what you were going through. If I had known what I do now, I would have helped you escape much faster than you did. People cry for others because they love and care for you as much as I do, maybe even more. I just know that I will always save your life when I have the power to and keep if safe. For once open your heart for a few minutes and let my love surround it." _

Not refusing Zack's request, Larissa relaxed her entire being and released the lock over her heart to hear Zack's beating in time with hers. The flow of his love almost overpowered Larissa's body as she allowed it to fill all the empty holes with pure happiness. Breathlessly she says, "Wow, your love is much bigger than I thought. I do not think Vincent's is even this strong." Zack chuckles and says, _"Every love is different, but in Vincent's case it will not be as strong because of Chaos. He holds much of it back to turn it into torture or something like that. But tell me this, does my love engulf you?" _

Repositioning herself to sit in his lap she whispers, "Yes, I am practically drowning in it. I have never felt this happy in months. Thank you for your love Zack." He smiled brightly while taking both of his arms and wrapping them loosely around the front of her body. Zack took his head to lay lightly on Larissa's right shoulder to calm her pain so she could sleep. From that point on they both drifted in each others arms for the remainder of the night.

The next morning Vincent wakes up to see that the bed to his left is empty. Jumping quickly to his feet he immediately runs down the stairs to see Cloud at the counter with Marlene and Denzel eating breakfast. "Where is Larissa? Have any of you seen her this morning?" asks Vincent urgently. Cloud snaps his head in Vincent's direction dilated eyes. Then he says to Vincent. "No I haven't. Let's search the town of all the familiar places she might visit." Both of them ran out the door as fast as lightening in opposite directions of Midgar.

Vincent decided to check the park and the beach while Cloud went to investigate the church. When he arrived at the door he noticed that it had already been opened. His slightly turned hand touched the medieval door cautiously to open it up all the way. When Cloud's blue eyes scanned the area he saw Larissa laying in the flowers fast asleep.

Running toward her, he fell to his knees to check on her condition. It seemed everything was just fine when he lifted her up into his lap for a closer look. Gently she whispers, "Zack?" Cloud looked at her with utter confusion, maybe it was a dream she was experiencing. "Larissa, Zack is not here. It's me Cloud. I thought I might check on you since we could not find you this morning. Are you sure you're feeling ok?"

Her eyes flew open to see Cloud looking over her with concern. She raised her head slowly to survey the room to see if Zack was hiding anywhere, but found only Cloud hovering over her. Then Larissa took out her trembling hand to touch Cloud's chest to see how strong his heart would be. Cloud obviously did not know what Larissa was doing, yet he felt safe enough for her to continue. The chilling touch of Larissa's hand frightened him for only an instant before he heard the beating of his own heart with hers.

"Your heart has grown weak, but that is not your fault. Because of the Mako Energy and Jenova cells, your heart is limited on what it can take and how much love it can hold. Maybe the reason why Zack's is different is because he is free. I have never felt such power that was so pure in all of my life, too bad I cannot give some of it to you for your spirit is faltering."

Instead of retaliating Cloud takes his free hand and puts it over Larissa's while saying, "Maybe if we combined our power together we can make it strong enough to survive this disaster."

Pushing herself up to a decent sitting position once again she replies, "That might be worth it in the long run. Well in any case I better head back to Lycia to tell those men what to do with the materials, but before I do can I use your cell to call Cid?" Cloud automatically pulls out his phone and places it in Larissa's free hand, not letting go of the other one for a moment.

A faint smile crosses her cracked lips as she dials Cid's number. Cid immediately answers the phone with, "This better be good spike head." Clearing her throat Larissa says, "Hey Cid this is Larissa, not Cloud. I just wanted to let you know that some more material is coming from Midgar over to you in a few days. Just have the men continue onto the houses and other plans. Oh and one more thing, thanks for all of your help. I really do appreciate it and I am sorry for threatening you and your men. Will you forgive me?"

Cid became completely speechless for a few seconds until he said, "No problem Larissa, I will do all I can. It should be ready before Christmas. See you in a few days then Larissa?" Smiling even wider she says, "Yes Cid I will see you by this evening. Goodbye."

"Goodbye Larissa, see you soon," then Cid hung op the phone with a sigh of relief and joy as much as Larissa did. "You are going back today? Why not stay a little longer; I don't see the reason to oversee the construction anymore. Cid should be able to handle the rest," Cloud says while weaving his hand into hers on his chest. Just then Larissa felt an immense pulse in Cloud's heart that gave her the proof of how much she was actually loved. How could she doubt Zack now after all they have been through?

"I have to go back in order to speed up the process. They are going by my plans, my orders. We should be done before the Christmas Holidays, which will be just in time before the chaos starts. Everything will be fine as long as everyone does his or her part. I am not afraid anymore and neither should the rest of you."

Larissa looked deep into his crystal blue eyes and knew that this event will pass over, but with a few mines along the way. Cloud kissed her hand gently with slight force that meant he wanted her to stay forever. She reached out to touch his face as it glowed in the morning light like a ray of sunshine that flowed through the trees of a plentiful forest. Of course Larissa's hand felt like a pack of cold dry ice as she traced the outline of Cloud's face just barely feeling his skin against hers, for she feared she might taint it.

After this action she rose to her feet quite easily with only a few wobbly steps, taking her hand away from Cloud's chest that left a mark where her hand once was. Cloud rose too to join her in the heavenly flowers while the sun continued to shine down upon them. "You know we will always be scared of what will happen in a few days time. All I care about is that we all survive, including you. I don't know if I will be able to…"

Larissa put her finger to his lips and said, "Do not blame yourself for things you cannot control. Maybe the reason why your heart is weak is because you make someone's problem yours too. Many burdens can run a person deep into the ground with grief and depression, even isolation can occur. I know you have experienced these symptoms before after Aeris died, do not make the same mistake over me if it should happen. I, just like her, will not hold anything against you."

Cloud relaxed his body gently under Larissa's fingertip and said, "Thank you that means the world to me."

Smiling she stepped away from Cloud in the direction of the door to go back to 7th Heaven to reassure everyone that she was ok. This was something that Larissa has become used to, yet today it bothered her that she had to report to other people where she was most of the time. It reminded her of the dark Shinra days when Hojo had the most power over the company.

Back in 7th Heaven she greeted the people as warmly as she could and decided to leave that moment, for staying any longer might cause a conflict. Waving goodbye she left with a flick of her wrist to Lycia to greet Cid and see if the supplies had come in yet. Larissa decided to give the car to Tifa and the others to use for deliveries or whatever they wanted to do with it. Cloud ran outside to see if she had really gone and felt the wind pick up, slightly bringing in the cold air of winter just in time for Christmas. Vincent sat on top of the roof of 7th Heaven and felt the same thing, wondering how this Christmas would turn out this year. Hopefully Larissa will be able to join them.


	16. Rufus's Christmas Party

Winter came in with a silent swift of fluffy snow that covered everything in site. The children were all over the city riding sleighs, throwing snowballs, and making snowmen on almost every street corner. Marlene and Denzel ran into the park ahead of Cloud and Tifa to make snow angels by the jungle gym. "I just love this weather don't you Cloud?" asks Tifa as she watches the snowflakes land all around her.

He said nothing for a time until Tifa nudged him on the shoulder. Cloud finally came around and said to her, "Yeah I do too. Sorry Tifa I was just thinking." She just looked at him and knew that what he was thinking about was not that happy because he continued to have a puzzled look on his face. "Cloud I know you do not like me asking you this question, but what's wrong? You never seem to talk to me that much anymore," says Tifa quietly.

Cloud looks at her and sees that she always means well when she asks this kind of question. Breathing slowly he says, "Do you really want to know what is on my mind Tifa?" Tifa nods her head lightly, but not too much to seem eager of what he might say.

Thinking carefully Cloud replies, "I am worried about her and I think she should be here with us. I want her to be here and Vincent thinks so too." Tifa knew that he was talking about Larissa and her condition. "Well Cloud, it is her decision to make if she should be here or not. I think she knows best, besides we need to think of what we want for our future."

"What do you mean Tifa?" Cloud asks cautiously. "I mean we should think of what we will do together. You do see me in your future don't you?" Cloud stops walking in the ankle deep snow around the jungle gym dome and stares at her, he really didn't know what to say to that. All he knew was that he had to come to an answer quick before Tifa got the wrong idea. "Of course I see you in my future Tifa," Cloud says hesitantly, "but I don't know if we will be like the way you see it. Are you talking about a family?"

"Yeah I think we will have a family together one day and be married. Cloud you know I have loved you ever since we met in Nibelheim and I still feel the same. Even though you tired your hardest to impress me you really didn't have to. I want you the way you are and no one else. Cloud why can't we move forward and create a nice home for ourselves? I know we both deserve it after all we have been through."

At this moment Cloud is really lost for words, all he can think of now is what Vincent said a few months ago of how Tifa felt about him. This was it and he could not think of a single thing to ease or put off the final decision of what to do. He did not want to hurt Tifa in any way possible, but right now was not a great time for something like this in his opinion.

"Tifa, I can't think of anything like that right now because of Larissa. We have to take care of that matter first and I really don't know if we will be like that in our future, I just don't know."

"Why is it that another person, particularly a woman, comes into our lives and you stop everything to solve that problem first? Are you in love with her too like you were with Aeris? I can see things Cloud Strife and to think I just told you the truth about how I felt. You can never commit to anything can you?"

"That's not what I meant at all and yes I can commit to something. Tifa you have to understand that Larissa is a walking time bomb. If I just let her continue like she is without giving a damn then she could destroy our world like Sephiroth wanted to do, or maybe even worse. Can't you see that if we don't take care of this now there will be no future for us to look forward to?"

Tifa remained silent because she was actually stumped by Cloud's logic. Of course Larissa would want to cause destruction that would not be her fault completely. It was what she was made of that was the problem. "But do you still want to have a family with me Cloud? After this is all over with I mean," she probes.

Cloud just could not escape the inevitable with Tifa and decided not to avoid it any longer. Vincent was right; there was no way around it. Taking deep breathes he replies," Tifa I really don't think I am the right person for you at all. I don't believe I can make you happy and no matter how much you try to brighten my world, you would be wasting your time. I will always be in a dark place because of what has happened to me and how well I have adapted to it. Sure the children make me smile and I have a wonderful time with the rest of Avalanche, but I think we will have too many problems together."

"You don't know that for sure at all. We could be prefect for each other and you wouldn't even know it. Why not give it a chance, Cloud why won't you be with me?"

"Tifa if we were meant to be together don't you think it would have happened by now? We have grown too much apart these past few years to really know each other like we used to. But know this Tifa, I will always be there for you and keep my promise of rescuing you when you are in trouble like I promised when we were kids. I hold you dear to my heart as a friend and I know you will be fine without me. Look how well you have done so far?"

Hot tears streamed down Tifa's face as she said, "It seems you don't even want to start over. We could get to know each other right now if you wanted to."

"Tifa I am too far gone for that now and if we were to start again we need to wait until this event is over. I am sorry but Larissa has to come first in order for us to survive, then we can plan what we want to do. I do want to know you like I used to, will that be ok?"

She wiped her tears away quickly and said through her happiness, "Ok Cloud. I will wait for you just a little bit longer."

"No I do not want you to wait for me anymore Tifa. If you ever find someone that will truly make you happy then go for him. I will be fine I promise."

Her stern back was turned against Cloud as the snow continued to fall on her. Her outfit was black of course with a few hints of gray intertwined with the fabric. Tifa's customers really do not know why she wears these kinds of clothes that do not flatter her features has much as other colors would. "Fine Cloud, I will let you have it your way… for now."

Breathing a sigh of relief he turns back to the swings where Marlene and Denzel were, their innocence always made Cloud smile more than anything in this cold world. He hopes that they will stay together and grow to marry one day like Tifa and he would have done if other complications did not interfere.

"Just look at those two playing together on the swing set. I think that is the cutest thing I have ever seen all this year," says Tifa thoughtfully. In the distance people are caroling to the city as they are shopping for their families and loved ones. Marlene and Denzel jumped off the seats of the swing set and motioned for Tifa and Cloud to follow them toward the carolers near the center of Midgar.

When the carolers were about to start singing Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, they heard a woman's voice that started to sing it before the choir was ready to begin. It was a beautiful clear voice that made all the people search around for the mystery woman who possessed it. Everyone from 7th Heaven ran outside to hear the voice more clearly as a faint glow of her figure came into view on the edge of the city.

"Who is that woman?"

"Can you see her? I can't find her anywhere."

"Look, there she is."

Cloud left Tifa beside Yuffie with the rest of the group and ran to the front to see her and discovered right away that it was Larissa. The luminescent glow came from her spirit that shined so brightly in the oncoming blizzard. The dark, threatening gray clouds would have frightened the people if Larissa was not there walking through the town to calm them. Her presence really motivated them into the Christmas spirit and the choir decided to join her in the chorus part of the song.

Once they were done she arrived right in front of the group with a wide grin on her face that showed pure joy to be there with them. Overhead they heard a great roar of propellers and gears shifting to land, it was Cid with his well known airship landing perfectly by the beach with ease.

"We are here everyone! Merry Christmas, I hope you do not mind us not calling first. Cid should be coming in a few minutes."

Hurried footsteps came advancing fast from the beach with a shadowy wave coming into view. "Hey guys! I sure did miss everyone and doesn't Larissa look great? Sorry we couldn't bring Maddox with us. He is back home with his family for the first part of the holidays. Maybe we can bring him later on for New Years."

Marlene and Denzel both trampled Cid immediately, glad to see their pilot from a long months work. Everyone else crowded around Larissa and Cid to give them a wonderful welcome home that they received gladly. Walking into 7th Heaven to celebrate Shelke presents them with a fancy letter in a gold envelope. "This just came in the mail, I thought that you should open it Tifa."

Tifa took the letter and ripped it open carefully with her slender fingers. Inside she pulled out a beautiful embroidered invitation that read:

Dear All Citizens of Midgar,

We would like to invite you all to a Christmas Party on Christmas Eve to celebrate this great weather and cheer. Come and bring everyone you know with you including the children. The party starts at 7:00 pm at the main hall by the Shinra Inc. building. The directions are on the back, hope to see you there. Oh and I have also ordered many toys and gifts for my guests because this is the season for giving. I hope to see you all there and wear formal attire.

Sincerely, Rufus Shinra

"Wow a Christmas Party! That will really get us in the mood for sure," says Yuffie excitedly. The children jumped for joy as they made their way upstairs to select what they would wear that night for the party only a week away. "I wonder why he is having a party all of a sudden. Rufus doesn't seem to be a social butterfly if you ask me," remarks Shelke when she looked at the invite over Tifa's shoulder.

"I agree with Shelke on this one," says Cid, "I think the guy wants support of some kind or money."

"Oh come on guys, can't you just forget the reason behind it and make this Christmas cheerful. I bet he is doing it to reach out the community, which is a good thing if you ask me," says Tifa.

"Tifa that is bullshit and you know it. Don't cover up on Shinra now, not after all they have done to us in the past. I know Rufus wants something from someone I just don't know what," says Barret annoyed.

"I guess we will find out when we go, Larissa you will be there too right?" asks Cloud when he turns to see her sitting at the counter holding her hand over her heart. "Larissa?"

Turning her head to look at them she says, "I do not know if I will be able to make it to Rufus's party. It could turn out ugly by the end of the night, I better stay here."

"Nonsense Larissa, you have to come with us. It wouldn't be as much fun if you weren't there to spice it up," says Reno that entered the diner and decided to make a deadly decision by sitting next to Larissa at the counter. Vincent stood up quickly and said threateningly, "Stay away from her Reno; you know I am not afraid to kill you."

"Those are some strong familiar words coming from an ex-Turk. Don't worry I won't harm your precious rose, I just want to touch it every now and then," Reno says with a smirk that covered his whole face with joy.

"Get away from me Reno before I decide to kill you instead of Vincent. Believe me, the pain will be far worse than a bullet going through your body," says Larissa menacingly.

Reno jumped out of his seat slowly and handed Larissa a sheet of paper before leaving to see Rude and his girlfriend Trish outside the door. When he had left she opened the slip of paper and it read:

My Dear Larissa,

You must attend this party at all costs or Rufus will come to find you. If that should happen he will know that something is coming, it's better to have him caught off guard when it comes to certain situations like this. I have already purchased you a dress to wear to cover up the wing and the tattoo on your right arm. It will look stunning on you I promise. Of course the dress will be delivered to you, see you next week.

With Love of a Close Friend, Tseng

Breathing in a deep sigh she says to the group, "I guess I will be going after all. Sure, count me in to be there with you."

Larissa folded the paper and slipped it into her pants pocket. Marlene ran down the stairs then and asked, "Can we decorate the diner today Tifa? Denzel and I have some great ideas we want to share with you. Miss Larissa you can help too if you want."

Tifa willingly agreed on the idea of decorating the diner today since the deliveries were running slow anyway. For the rest of the day the whole restaurant looked like a winter wonderland. Lights twinkled out of every corner, ornaments were hung on all parts of the ceiling, and the tree looked magnificent to the left of the stairway. They all helped to make the season look brighter than it ever has before.

A week went quickly by as Christmas Eve was fast approaching. On that night everyone dressed in the best clothes they could find. All the men wore tuxedos except Vincent who never has worn anything like that since Chaos became part of his body. Tifa wore a dark purple dress while Marlene had a coral pink one. Yuffie picked green of course and Shelke had a turquoise one that really made her eyes pop. Larissa was the last one that they were dieing to see. She came through the door with a gorgeous cream evening gown with silver threads woven into the lining of the dress. It flowed elegantly with her every step and it had a nice cape that covered her back and part of her shoulders. Tseng came up behind her wearing a stunning tux that really blew them away. It had cuff links that were made of cream pearls and he had a white rose pinned neatly on his right shoulder. For a Turk his clothes were nicely pressed by the dry cleaners and everything was polished to perfection. Tseng looked gorgeous compared to his usual attire for work.

"We are here as requested," says Tseng, "I see that everyone looks amazing in their new outfits. Are we all ready to go?"

Cloud became annoyed when he saw Tseng's smooth hand around Larissa's waist. "Yeah let's go, I can't wait to get there," said Marlene and Denzel already heading out the front door. "Oh and so you know the, whole town of Lycia has been invited as well. Maddox cannot wait to see his new friends at the party," Tseng informs the children through the open door. All he heard from them was a big shout of cheer to know that their friend was coming to join in their fun.

"Alright everyone, the cars are all outside to take you there and back. Let's get going." Tseng steers Larissa around to go out the door toward his car while the others picked another car driven by another Turk. No one really knew why the Turks were going out of their way for them, but decided to take advantage of it for now. Rushing down the street toward the great hall they talked non-stop through the whole car ride. The driver that Cloud, Tifa, and Vincent had was Reno talking constantly about nothing in particular. It almost drove them insane.

In the middle of the conversation Cloud dared to ask Reno why Larissa decided to ride with Tseng instead of the rest of the group to the party. Reno looked at him through the rear view mirror and smiled. His reply was, "I thought you were a little sharper than that Cloud. Tseng is Larissa's date to this ball or whatever you want to call it. Didn't you see how their clothes matched color wise? I think he has a thing for her because of the way he stands by her, it is fun to watch. Why just the other day he talked to her on the phone for hours about anything, anything! As you have noticed Tseng is really not much of a talker and to witness that was shocking. Not to mention seeing Elena almost blow up in his face for it, now that was hilarious."

"Are Tseng and Elena dating?" asks Tifa innocently. "Oh hell no," says Reno chuckling, "Elena is the one who is obsessed with Tseng and I mean that literally. She just hates it when Larissa comes around because he drops everything to see her and practically bends over backwards to anything Larissa says. It's amazing, I never thought a girl could ever whip Tseng, but I guess there is a first time for everything."

They arrived at the gates to the hall at 6:55 pm to check in and park their vehicles in the special reserved spots for elite guests. Tseng could be seen opening the door for Larissa while taking her hand to assist her out of his car. When he swished her to the side to shut the car door he looked at her the whole time. Their eyes never left each other as he held onto her hand very tightly, as if she were going to disappear right in front of him and make it seem like he was crazy for standing there in that position.

"See what did I tell ya," says Reno, "I think Tseng is in love with Larissa big time and that's got to prove it. If it doesn't then I don't know what will."

Cloud could not believe what he was hearing. Larissa in love with Tseng?! That is utterly impossible and if it were happening then the world was coming to an end. In Cloud's opinion Tseng was too cold and conservative for a woman with great ambition and kindness like Larissa. This was not making any sense and it was killing him.

Tseng eyed them from the front door of the ball room and motioned for them to hurry up to the front. When they all arrived there Cloud noticed that Tseng was now holding Larissa's hand and she did nothing to stop it. He had this strong sensation to pull them apart and take Larissa for himself, but that would really cause some serious problems they did not need right now. Tseng showed the bodyguard the tickets and gestured for the crew to walk on in.

When they entered the children awed over the decorations and especially the presents that lingered under the enormous tree that sparkled in the well lit ballroom. The tables of food were numerous to feed more than an army. They all had white table clothes over them with at least 5 or 6 bright red poinsettias to separate the different kinds of food.

Marlene and Denzel immediately spotted Maddox across the room by one of those tables and ran to him with open arms as he did the same. Tseng was right, almost all of the people from Lycia were there enjoying themselves and getting acquainted with the Midgar city people. They all seemed to be having a great time.

"Oh this is just wonderful," says Yuffie, "Just seeing that food really makes me hungry. I guess I will see you later guys I am going to go eat and mingle." She waved goodbye to the group and walked briskly to the closest buffet table. Everyone else scattered to do their own thing until the music started playing, giving a hint to the guests to go to the dance floor. This is when Rufus appeared at the head of the room with a microphone in his thin slender hand. When everyone saw him they all fell silent to hear what he had to say.

With a pleasant smile he says, "Welcome all my fine guests to this party of mine on Christmas Eve. I am glad you all could make it and please enjoy all the entertainment that I have to offer. If you need anything just let me or one of the Turks know. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!"

The whole crowd cheered gleefully and the ones who loved to dance all went to the floor for some fun. Tseng motioned for Larissa to dance with her and she agreed gladly. Cloud decided to dance with Tifa until Larissa would be free to dance again. When the first song was over there was a huge round of applause and Rufus glided to the floor toward Larissa for the next song before Cloud had a chance to ask her. Vincent did not like to dance at all, but Yuffie would not listen until he gave her a really cold stare that made her retreat to dance with Cid instead. Surprisingly Cid invited Shirley from Rocket Town to join in on some of the fun. It seemed like she loved every minute of it with Yuffie and some of the others. The next ballet played slowly and Rufus appeared to be a really gracefully dancer. He carried Larissa all around the room and talked to her quietly all the while.

"So Larissa are you enjoying this party of mine," Rufus asks kindly. Larissa looked at him for the first time since their meeting a few months ago. He seemed to be in better shape or maybe it was the suit that he was wearing that made him look decent. "It is a really nice party Rufus; you have outdone yourself this year."

"Thank you Larissa. I have noticed that you and Tseng have become very close these days. Is there something you wish to tell me? I am a great listener if you just give me a try."

"Tseng and I have much in common, that is really all I can say. What is it that you are implying?

"Oh now there is no need to be hostile, I was just curious." A deadly silence passed between them before Rufus suggested, "Larissa I have a proposal for you. What would you say to me if I asked you to be my one and only woman?"

Larissa looked at Rufus in bewilderment and replied, "I would say you have lost your mind. Besides even if you did not I would decline your proposal every time you would ask me."

"Aww Larissa, that breaks my heart. I thought we would be a beautiful couple just like those pictures in the frames that sell in convent stores." Rufus twirled Larissa around and placed her in his arms and whispered, "Whether you like it or not I am interested in you Larissa. Maybe one day we will be together and run this corrupted world that people believe is at peace. Just think about it."

Rufus releases her into Tseng's arms and walks briskly away toward his other guests. "What did he say to you?" asks Tseng urgently. "He asked me to be his woman and help him run his company pretty much. Of course I refused him, but his interest in me is growing to where it is becoming uncomfortable. I feel that a fight is inevitable with Shinra Inc. It will be a bloody one if it does occur any time next year."

Tseng shook his head in agreement and felt the fog around Rufus's sudden interest of Larissa vanish before his eyes. _"So he wants Larissa's power to rule the area. He is no different than the tyrants from before. He reminds me so much of his father that it is frightening. I will be on Larissa's as well as Cloud's side on this war. They can count on that." _

Tseng was about to ask Larissa to dance with him again when Cloud mysteriously showed up beside her and said, "There you are Larissa, I have been looking all over for you. You don't mind me asking her to dance do you Tseng? I think you have hogged her enough for the night."

Larissa agreed to dance with Cloud on the next song while Tseng got stuck with Elena. This song seemed to be a slow waltz of White Christmas as they glided across the floor in time with the music. Cloud held her close as they danced to the center of the ballroom with the rest of the crowd. "I am glad that you came back Larissa. The life around 7th Heaven was boring without you there to brighten it up," says Cloud softly into her ear.

Chuckling Larissa says back, "It's amazing how you picture me as a loving person without any mean streak whatsoever in my body. Why do you see me this way?"

"Because I know that deep down inside you that is the real person you were meant to be before everything else happened. Larissa I don't want you to disappear from my life, ever. Even though we have our problems I want us to work them out together. I feel closer to you than anyone I have ever known, including Tifa. Please promise me that you will stay."

Larissa looked deep in those Mako blue eyes and knew that she could not make this promise no matter how hard she wanted to. Her original soul had grown certain affection for Cloud that she could not shake off, even Vincent's feelings did not interfere, but then again his was completely different. She replied back, "I wish I could make such an oath to you Cloud, but sadly I cannot. This wing has a mind of its own and for me to stay with you is almost impossible. I will try if that will make the matter better."

Cloud held her even closer and shook his head in approval to Larissa's statement. Before the song was over, he looked back in her deep silver eyes now and noticed that her grip was loosening up his hands. "Larissa what's wrong? Speak to me!"

A cold wind swept over the ballroom that caused everyone to stop moving in their positions. The lights went dim and Cloud looked at Larissa and noticed that her body was shaking violently again. All she could say was, "He's here, run away from me Cloud. Its coming and I cannot stop it. Back away while you still have the chance."

By that time Larissa fell to the ground with her hands to her face in horror. When Cloud turned around he say a distorted figure dressed in black floating through the ceiling toward the marble floor. He had a black wing on his left shoulder with long silver hair that went past his hip with a sword as long has his whole body. No one could mistake it, it was Sephiroth coming for Larissa and no one knew what to do about it. Cloud did not have his buster sword to ward him off, but Vincent came up behind them with his Death Penalty read to fire if he came too close.

Sephiroth landed lightly in front of them with a wide grin on his face that showed pure evil. His voice sounded the same as before when he said, "Well Larissa it looks like we meet again at last. You know you cannot escape my clutches of what will be our body as one. Why do you tremble like that, are you afraid of the inevitable? Don't worry this won't take long."

Vincent walked in front of Larissa and fired at Sephiroth's heart, yet a shield of some unknown energy blocked his bullet completely from its true intention. "You are such a fool Chaos. What makes you think you can harm me of all people? Just because Lucrecia made us both does not mean we are equal in power. Now get out of my way so I can take what is rightfully mine," Sephiroth says with a little laugh to his speech.

Tseng tried to reach Larissa, but was afraid of what Sephiroth might do in his attempt. He decided to stay by Rufus just in case the table shifted in another direction. Besides if Vincent's bullets could not work then his gun would definitely be useless. Cloud took the spot of where Vincent stood and blocked Larissa from view like a protective shield.

Laughing Sephiroth says, "What is this Cloud? Do you think you can defile me again? Well think again, this time I will kill you along with the rest of this wasteful race of human kind. The method of killing you that I have decided will be like how I killed Aeris, a slow painful death that will have your blood flowing out of you for hours."

Tifa almost ran out in front of Cloud so he would not be cut by Sephiroth's sword when an ear piercing scream came from Larissa's still shaking body on the marble tile. "Stay away all of you! You still think you can do anything you want to don't you Sephiroth? Well my power is coming and there is nothing you can do about it. Prepare for the battle of your life because I am tired of waiting."

The field of power that glowed from her body was blinding and severely strong. It blasted everyone away from her space and they all landed against the walls of the ballroom. On the back of her evening gown blood started to seep through her cape where the wing was coming out in full force. The wing slowly dug out of her shoulder blade a white feather at a time until half of it came out all dressed in Larissa's blood. The screams still did not subside as everyone witnessed what was happening and how her eyes were becoming a dark golden color that would give anyone nightmares.

The wave of power increased as the wing reached its final stages of development. It expanded out to its full length of her whole body just like Sephiroth's did except it had the color of an eerie white instead of tainted black. Her blood began to pour out of her wound to her shoulder, but it seemed to not affect her in any way. Larissa's eyes finally settled on a bright gold that resembled the rays of the early morning sun. The earth stopped shaking when Larissa rose to her feet in violent anger.

Her voice also changed to something cold and deadly when she says to Sephiroth, "It is time to settle the score Sephiroth. I am tired of being hunted down and I am tried of people trying to take control of me. The world is not yours to own or it would have been yours long ago, but since you failed to do that maybe I can do the deed in your place. Hojo made me so I would surpass all that you were made of and do even more damage than intended. I do not need you for the things I want to accomplish; you are too weak and would only get in my way. So I have decided to dispose of you in my own way that I call pleasure and trust me it will not be sexual. I do not stoop to such a level; my level is only torture of physical pain."

Just in her right hand alone came a great big ball of light energy similar to the holy spell that Aeris made to save the planet. If Larissa could produce such power in a few seconds the world really would come to an end or be at her command. How could Hojo make such a human being?! The whole town of Lycia did not know what to do except run out of the doors to their cars for safety. Some even decided to drive off to their hotel rooms for the night until someone came to tell them the coast was clear. Maddox was the only one who stayed behind with Marlene and Denzel; he did not want to leave his new best friends to deal with this new dilemma.

Avalanche really did not know what to do at this point, all they did was stare at the disastrous scene before them and pray they would survive it. "Look at that flow of energy, it just keeps growing and growing," remarks Shelke in awe. "Well shit what are we gonna do now? Cloud, Vincent, you two have any ideas up your sleeves?" asks Barret over the rumble of massive power still coming from Larissa's hand.

"We have to get the children out of here first along with the rest of the town," says Vincent, "then we can figure out what to do with Larissa and Sephiroth."

"I agree with Vincent. Let's round everyone up and lead them away from this place. We might as well retrieve our weapons somehow if that is possible," replies Cloud to the group.

"That is already been taken care of," says Reeves behind them with all of their equipment in his hands. When everyone suited up they ran to the crowd and started leading them out the door and told them to all go home where it would be safe, they would make an announcement later, but until then everyone had to stay indoors. As the people began to file out of the ballroom the war began between the most powerful people made by a mad scientist that never truly went away.

Up in the heavens Zack could hear uproar from where he stood by the little window peering down to earth. He walked over and did not like what he was seeing at all. Larissa is on the rampage with Sephiroth and there is nothing the gang can do about it. _"Aeris maybe I should go down there to help Larissa. Her wing has sprouted out in full force and she is about to fight Sephiroth head on. If they keep the battle up and she wins then she might attack the others. I must calm her." _

"_Zack we cannot just go down on earth anytime we want to. We have to have permission and Larissa has sprouted already?! Oh no what are we going to do? If we go down there it might mess up Cloud's mind as well as the rest of Avalanche. Besides do you really think you can calm her?" _

"_I know I can Aeris because I have done it before when she came to the church a few days ago. She was in so much pain and misery; I just couldn't stand it anymore so I gave her my love to stay alive and to rid her of her condition. Please Aeris let me help Larissa when the time comes. We do not need her killing other people that are innocent." _

"_Fine Zack, but I will watch everything and come to aid you if things get rough. We better not interfere right now though. Let's wait until the fight is almost over, she needs to see what Sephiroth is all about no matter what kind of condition he might be in."_

Zack nodded in agreement with Aeris as they continued to watch the beginning of the fight in the Shinra ballroom off to the right of the corporation building. Everyone else stared in bewilderment of what to do next since it seemed like their help would be useless in this fight. Whatever the outcome will be they knew that it would not be pretty.


	17. Larissa vs Sephiroth: Battle One

Back in the ballroom, Larissa unleashed her spherical white magic to aim right at Sephiroth's heart. When it left her right hand it flew in ways no one thought could be done with magic. Sephiroth did not know what was coming to him until the energy blast hit him square on the left shoulder where his wing was. He miraculously dodged the bullet just in time, for her speed was remarkable in power as well as strength. 

"It seems you still have some strength left in you," says Larissa as she readies another huge ball of white magic, "but why are you not attacking? Are you that weak of a being? Surely the great One-Winged Angel is not through with this world yet."

Recovering from the blow that left a deep gray hole in his left shoulder, he floated above her and said, "You are right about one thing, I am not through with this contaminated world until it is mine. Come at you I shall with all of my might."

Larissa released her white ball of fury while her sword materialized in her left hand ready to block when necessary. The energetic sphere hit Sephiroth's other shoulder as he came toward Larissa with his famous Masamune that illuminated an ominous black color, which reeked of death. Her Masamune of white clashed into Sephiroth's with a bang of grinding steel. He stayed suspended in the air while Larissa forced more of her light onto him, causing him to withdrawal to the ground. Circling each other around the ballroom,

Larissa once again made the first move by striking Sephiroth in a downward sweeping motion that he dodged expertly.Sephiroth decided to take this opportunity to strike back at Larissa with his Demon Spiral technique that he just mastered here recently. Laughing he says to her, "Ha, you seem to think that you have conquered me already when I haven't even started yet. Here is something I know you will enjoy."

Wrapping both of his ghostly palms around his sword hilt he starts to charge his sword up with demons that screamed from the aura that was coming from his blade. With graceful circular swings he manages to create a giant tornado around his very own body to release on Larissa.

Sephiroth's eyes glowed red as he discharged this colossal negative energy on her, which everyone gasped of what the outcome could to the displeasure of Tseng, decided to stay and watch the fight between Larissa and Sephiroth with Avalanche at the front door of the ballroom. If things got way out of hand at least they were close to the nearest exit out of the building.

Shielding their eyes from the impact everyone looked a few seconds later on the battlefield to see Larissa surrounded by a great crystal barrier. Sephiroth could not believe his eyes when he saw her completely unharmed by one of his deadly attacks. Chuckling she says,

"Well I guess it is my turn."All the color drained from Sephiroth's face as he watched Larissa's right hand rise to the sky. Praying a language of magic that was hers alone she yells out, "Holy Rain!" Looking up at the ceiling a pure white cloud began to form and then more of them started to appear. A few seconds passed before the raging Holy storm became active with vicious silver lightening flashing in the ripples of the clouds. With the snap of Larissa's fingers, the rain began to fall mercilessly on Sephiroth who put up a barrier of his own just in time for the shower.

The rain looked like huge droplets of light that threatened to evaporate anything in its path. As time went on the rain began to take up more speed to a deafening pound of fists. For its grand finale it created a huge white shell around Sephiroth's body and burst into tiny sprays of water that sunk into his skin, practically burning it like acid.Sephiroth's barrier weakened tremendously after that monstrous attack and he did not feel like he could go on much longer.

Up above Zack and Aeris cheered Larissa of her soon to be victory over Sephiroth, their arch rival since the day he was created. Rufus and the Turks could not keep their mouths shut at the awesome power Larissa possessed. No one ever thought anyone else could surpass Sephiroth in that much strength as she did.

Breathing heavily he says to Larissa, "That was some attack you pulled, yet it will take much more to diminish me from this very earth. Witness this new technique I have come to love for the past few days. It's what helps me to survive off of this disoriented soul."

Floating toward the center of the room he shouts, "Anima Plerusque!" No one knew what he meant until they saw what was happening to the people outside. All the guards and sentry men and women collapsed onto the ground totally lifeless. Sephiroth was gathering their souls to eat, so he could recover what power he lost from the attack Larissa made on him. Cloud felt furious with him and was about to charge at Sephiroth to delay the souls from entering his body when Vincent stopped his attack. Vincent's gaze told him it would be useless, so he stayed back and watched in agonizing anger of the innocent souls being devoured by a demon.

Larissa watched in bitter amusement at Sephiroth's new trick of how he has stayed alive for all these years. He consumed other people's souls for life energy, something she would never do until drastic measures were needed. Once the souls entered his body he gained all of his strength back and even a little bit extra. Anger rising in her voice she shouts, "So it has come to this Sephiroth, you taking other people's lives to use as your own source of life energy! I loathe the method as much as I loathe your existence. Prepare to be banished from this land to Hell where you belong."

Gathering even more power she shoots out shots of holy magic repeatedly at Sephiroth while he dodges them. He finally got tired of the exercise and started to hit them back like baseballs toward Larissa, which she absorbed back into her body to reload for him. They went around the ballroom like this for about 10 to 15 minutes, filling the place with massive holes where they just missed each other on an attack.

"Maybe we should get out of here," says Yuffie, "if we stay any longer the whole place is going to collapse right on top of us."

"Yuffie does have a valid point, says Nanaki, "let us withdrawal outside of this building for now.

They will surely follow in due time.""I am not going anywhere until this battle is finished. I don't want to miss a second of it," says Cloud stubbornly. Vincent wanted to do the same, but he knew if they didn't get out Yuffie's outcome would be reality. Lightly touching Cloud's shoulder again he tried to convince him to head outside with the others. At first Cloud did not budge until Vincent threatened to pick him up if necessary, so Cloud reluctantly headed out the door with his eyes on Larissa the whole time.

Tseng saw what Avalanche was doing and decided to do the same while dragging Rufus by his side. Because of the great impact of Larissa's blasts the ceiling started to cave in over Sephiroth and her still inside the ballroom. Cloud became alarmed until he saw them perfectly fine in the same spot without a building to hide their power from the naked eye.

The city dwellers outside all looked out their windows to see what the huge rumble was all about and were shocked at what they saw. Right in the center of the once standing ballroom Larissa showed a pure white light while Sephiroth had his black glow that blended in well with the nighttime. "What are we waiting for, let's continue our battle and finish this," says Larissa menacingly.

"You read my mind," says Sephiroth with his sword already in position. It appears he wants to try and use magic or some sort of technique to finish the deal for the night. His first move was a standard sword attack that Larissa blocked well. As a counter attack she made a nice cut that made a deep gray mark across his chest, just below where his human heart should have been. Next he decided to use a newer version of the Omislash to weaken her body if that was even possible.

Rushing at her with all of his might, Sephiroth managed to cut her arms in several places. As for the rest of the body, he could not even come close to without being burned by the light it illuminated. Fresh blood from Larissa's new wounds on her arms outraged her to use her special sword technique called "Blood Fusion." It is a technique that absorbs the person's blood into their weapon of choice and gives off a huge wave of bloody energy toward their enemy or target. It gives off quite an impact on anything it touches, but it is a minor attack compared to other moves Larissa could do.

The blood quenching blade had an aura of electrifying force that dripped with pain as Larissa aimed for Sephiroth, who was wondering what that attack might do it his being. Bracing himself, he put up his deteriorating barrier to see if he could at least block most of the blow that he could not avoid in his position.

Swishing her sword forward, the big bloody wave crashed effortlessly through Sephiroth's weak barrier and completely knocked him off of his feet. As a counter attack he shoots out blue flames aimed for Larissa's now vulnerable arms and hits her right on target. Screaming with immense pain, she begins to charge after Sephiroth with new found anger that only increased as she approached him.

Her blade drawn high over her head, Larissa slashed through him several times all over his body, enjoying every little scream he made from her blow. When Larissa had enough she withdrew to marvel at her accomplishment. Sephiroth lay withered on the stone cold marble floor with gray streaks all over his body where Larissa had carved her mark into his depleting gray skin.

Laughing quietly Larissa remarks, "Well it looks like you are finished Sephiroth. I have to admit you did give me a fight worthy of my time, but it's a shame that it had to end so soon," walking toward his shriveling body now she remembers something, "Ah yes before I forget there is one other thing I must do. Those spirits you collected earlier do not belong to you, so I think it is only fair that I return them to their proper owners. After all they would be no use to you since your death is drawing so near."

Extending her hand over Sephiroth's heart, she whispers a spell called "Soul Collector" to bring forth all the spirits he stole previously from the Shinra guards outside and some from WRO. The souls came out of Sephiroth's body and sailed to the empty bodies surrounding the area of the diminished ballroom. The people did not wake up right away and would not until someone had the power to resurrect them properly. For now they remained lifeless on the snowy ground, yet faint wisps of fresh air filled their collapsed lungs to allow them to breath. They were all going to be ok.

When all the souls left Sephiroth's body, he became even weaker as he tried to rise to a sitting position, but failed miserably. He immediately crumbled to the ground again in a frightening mess. It seemed like his motor skills had vanished into the chilling air of the star filled night.

"You have not won yet Larissa. I will be back to fight you again and that one will determine who deserves to live on this planet. For now I must leave you to recover my poor loss. But before I go here is something to keep you occupied, I hope you enjoy it."

Throwing a small black canister out onto the floor, it landed perfectly at Larissa's feet while he drew out his black wing, ready for departure. "Wait! I am not through with you yet. Where do you think you are going?! Stop being a coward and face me like the true Sephiroth would." 

"I am so sorry Larissa, but that will have to wait until next time. Goodbye for now."

Wrapping his patched feathered wing over his dieing body, he simply dissipated into thin air with a few black feathers left behind to prove that he was really there. "What?! No, Sephiroth where are you? I am tired of this madness and agony, just let me go. SEPHIROTH!!!"

The small black canister at Larissa's feet started to vibrate at the sound of her voice and cracked right down the middle. What came oozing out of the container was a steely liquid that formed into an alien structure of a woman. "Who is that supposed to be?" whispers Tifa close to Cloud's ear.

The question was answered instantly when Larissa said, "So you are the true form of Jenova that I have been supposedly a part of for years. Tell me, what brings you here?"

The new life form spread out her hands and replies, "I have come to destroy you for you have disobeyed me. My cells course through your veins and yet you abuse the purpose why they are there in the first place. So I told my good son Sephiroth to carry me here to you so we can settle this dispute once and for all."

"You actually think you own me? I must say that is quite funny in the sense that I am my own being, even though I was cremated to suit your purpose. Know this Jenova you will not make it out alive in this battle." 

"Ha that is what you think. My dear son has weakened you considerably."

"Maybe so, but you are much weaker in full force. And besides I can always heal myself a new, now come at me with all that you have Jenova. I hope you have spoken all that you want because those few words will be your last!"

Zack and Aeris are now on the edge of the window that shows them what is going on in the real world, they are hoping Larissa will win and rid the planet of another evil. Before Larissa and the real Jenova clash together in battle, Jenova stops in her tracks and examines the night more closely. When her eyes met Cloud's she says, "Wait Larissa, I did not know that another one of my children is present. He should join in this fight too, for he disobeyed me as well. Draw out your weapon boy and prepare for battle."

Stepping in front of Cloud, Larissa says to Jenova, "Why are you wasting your time on him for? He is not significant in the least of what we are trying to settle. Leave him alone and fight only me in this battle you have brought upon us both." 

"He is also a part of my project and should join our little party."

"He is only a prototype that failed; he is of no use to you. His Mako power has almost vanished from his system; he is and always will be useless in our fight so let's get this over with."

"Oh that's right. Well it's too bad Zack never made it out alive to see this, he had such a promising future with the project along with Sephiroth."

"Would you shut up about your project already? We pretty much know that you want to make the world your own and I will not stand for it as much as the rest of these people here tonight. Now take your own request and draw your weapon for a battle with me. Oh and so you know, Zack would have escaped with me if he had not been killed by the Shinra soldiers who were out looking for him."

Smiling a wicked smile, Jenova produces a huge silver scythe that has blue sapphires embedded into the long blue handle. Rising up into the middle of the diminished ballroom she gets into position for her first move. Gazing at Larissa's state of being, Cloud knew that she would have to have help on this fight and would not take no for an answer. He walks to the left side of her in order to dodge the wing and says to Jenova, "I would be more than happy to join in on your little party." Drawing his sword out in full view in spite of Tifa's pleas to stay back, Cloud sets himself in his own stance for his first attack.

Larissa gave a sideways glance at Cloud before turning back to Jenova to finish the night off with a bang. Someone was going to die tonight and it might as well be the creation that started it all. "I hope you are quick," Larissa says before launching off to the other side of Jenova to strike at any given moment. Cloud nodded slightly and decided to take the other side to help Larissa out that way.

"Well now let the fun begin," says Jenova as she made the first move by swinging her scythe in a perfect circle to try and attack them both, but Cloud and Larissa blocked it nicely. A little irritated, she decides to mess with Cloud first to see what Larissa's reaction would be. Jenova glided her blue sapphire scythe to aim right down Cloud's chest, yet he brought his new buster sword out at the same time and they both clashed noisily. Holding her there, Larissa found this as a perfect opportunity to kill Jenova once and for all.

Sneaking a few feet away from Jenova's back, Larissa readied herself for a dragon flight jump that intended to stab Jenova through her heart. Lightly taking off the ground Larissa flew into the air with the help of her wing and positioned her sword in the same position Sephiroth did when he murdered Aeris in the Forgotten City. Zoning in on her prey, Larissa charged down and accomplished what she wanted to happen. In the mist of Cloud's steady block she was able to force her sword right through Jenova where it hurt the most. It was so abrupt that Cloud took his buster sword out from underneath Jenova and watched in shock of Larissa's sword still plunging through her mangled body. 

"Ugh you have defeated me already? I guess I really did underestimate you after all Larissa, your mind does work like my son's maybe even better. I just thought I would be able to play with it a little more. But tell me this, what will become of you once I am gone?"

"What do you mean Jenova?" asks Larissa cautiously as she twists her sword around in Jenova's chest to make sure she pierced the right organ. 

Laughing she says, "I thought you knew Larissa. Once I am dead all the cells that belong to me will die for good. I know you are made from them, so it is natural to assume you will die too."

This is something Larissa had never considered in her life. Surely the cells would still survive for all the experiments they had gone through or would they. At this moment Larissa stopped twisting the sword in her chest and said, "I really am not too concerned considering that I do not have any of your cells in my body anymore. The one Sephiroth tried to give me I ejected immediately, so I do not see what I have to worry about." 

"You fool; your body has tons of my cells. You have not noticed before because they are my cells that suit your needs in order to function properly. Once I am gone you will feel a popping sensation that will cause you sever pain beyond what you have experienced before. Now that I think about it, maybe this will be a better ending than I thought. Ha, see you in Hell Larissa."

Those were Jenova's dieing words as she faded away into the Underworld forever. She was the last model of the whole Jenova Project and Larissa was glad to send her to her rightful place. Withdrawing her sword out of Jenova's disappearing body, Larissa examines it to see that all the cells on the blade were indeed popping. When she looked on the floor she saw all of Jenova's cells littered everywhere around her feet, but they were all popping just like she said they would. Watching it did not make Larissa too concerned for her, only to find a white table cloth near by to clean her blade up for later use.

Cloud looks at the scattered cells on the floor and then he looks at Larissa with another worried expression on his soft face. "Maybe we should take you to the Midgar hospital to see if your body is going to be ok. You took quite a beating from them both."

"No Cloud that will not be necessary. I am fine as you can plainly see."

When Larissa walked closer to one of the torn table clothes near by she began to feel light stings of pain that were running up her arms. Thinking it was only the scratches left by Sephiroth, she continued walking not knowing what to expect in the next few minutes.

Only a few inches away now from one of the surviving tables she stops cold in her tracks and looks at her skin. It was turning yellow and flaky and that made Larissa alarmed. Then she heard the popping and realized that Jenova was right, her cells were dieing and she did not know of any way to stop it. As this realization kicked in she became unable to hold her sword that grew heavy in her right hand.

Stumbling forward she landed on her knees and that is when the screaming began. Loud high pitched screams filled the air as the gang saw her skin popping everywhere, making her skin look like it was boiling on a hot stove. Tseng immediately told Reno and Rude to fetch the paramedics while Cloud ran toward Larissa to see if he could help her in any way possible.

When he was only a few feet away a huge serge of power created a barrier around Larissa's body to not let anyone enter. Cloud did not realize this in time and was thrown directly to where the back wall should have been of the ballroom. Good thing Barett caught him in time with his massive structure; otherwise Cloud would have sailed down a few blocks. Tifa ran to him to see if he was ok. "Cloud are you all right? What happened?" asks Tifa frantically.

"A huge barrier just came out of no where and is blocking my entrance to Larissa. All her energy from Jenova's cells must be releasing itself from her body. I really don't know what to do. Vincent do you have any ideas?" 

Vincent studied the barrier and only came up with one solution. "I could use my Death Penalty to try and penetrate the barrier, but I am not guaranteed it will work."

"You better not do that," says Reeves, "because if you do and it bounces off it could hit one of us or even worse if she has control on where the bullet can be launched."

"I can't believe all the cells in her bloodstream are actually popping like Jenova said. If it continues she will surely die," says Shelke quietly. 

"There has to be something we can do," says Cloud desperately.

Up in Heaven Zack could no longer take the agonizing screams of Larissa; he hated seeing her go through so much pain. _"Aeris we have to help her, I am going down there to calm her down with my spirit energy."_

"_Wait Zack, you don't know what you are up against. And besides we need a small plan before we do anything. Her spirit is slowly fading away because of all the Jenova cells dieing in her bloodstream. If we want to save her we need to drain all the blood out and replace it with human blood if she can handle it. We don't even know where to find the doctors to do the procedure or how we can hold her together."_

"_Why can't we just ask the doctors from the Spirit World to treat her? I bet they would love to do another operation for old time sake. And about holding her together, that will be my job. I know I can because I have done it before. Aeris we need her to live." _

"_That's a great idea Zack! Yeah I know, she replaced me as a Savior of the Planet. Ok we have work to do. I will meet you down there with the best paramedics the Spirit World has to offer, but where are we going to get the blood from?"_

"_We can always ask Cloud and the others to go to the Midgar Clinic and retrieve huge amounts of blood with some equipment for the doctors to use. I know one of them should know her blood type or she might be able to tell us. Well I will see you in a little bit."_

"_Ok, but just words of advice before you go. Be careful and try not to get too attached to them." _

"_All right Aeris I'll try not to." _

With a wink Zack soared down the portal to enter the real world where Larissa was to try and hold her together until medical help arrived. Aeris immediately dashed off in the opposite direction to search for the most able doctors who were willing to do one last call on a patient that really needed some medical attention.

When Zack arrived down on Earth he was almost blown away by Larissa's negative energy that was coming from the dieing cells of Jenova. The force field was enormous; it at least covered a good 6 feet in diameter all the way around. Seeing the gang over in the corner debating on what to do made him smile for a brief moment, then he saw Cloud and Tifa. Tifa he only remembered slightly by his visit to Nibelheim back in the day, but Cloud gave him this sense of longing to come back and live out the rest of his life with the only true friend he had in SOLDIER besides Aeris and Larissa.

Focusing on the task at hand he stared at Larissa in horror of what Jenova was doing to her, it made his heart cry out in response to her pain. _"Larissa I'm coming for you, just hold on!" _

Everyone froze when they heard another man speak that they did not recognize. Looking in the distance Cloud could have sworn he saw Zack fighting against the barrier, but that would be impossible since he has been died for years. Then it happened. Zack took his legendary buster sword and slashed through the barrier like butter and ran toward Larissa's mangled body with open arms. Picking her up from the floor he embraced her with all the love and light he could produce and that made the screaming stop.

The raging barrier ceased and blew away into the wind. All that was left now was Zack's illuminating spirit wrapped around Larissa's fading one to hold it to her melting body.

"Zack is that you? Have you come for me?" Larissa asks faintly.

"_Yes Larissa I have come to help you. I could not bear to hear you cry out to the Planet in such agonizing tones. Aeris will be coming later on and we are going to restore you. But I am afraid it will have to be in the form you have grown to live with all of your life. If we had your original body we would restore you to that, but sadly we cannot locate it." _

"No, why must I continue to live? I want to die so badly, Zack please take me to the Promised Land. I do not want to be here anymore because all of my life is full of pain and sadness. I want to join you and Aeris and live a happy life, one I think I rightly deserve." 

Pulling her body closer Zack says, _"I am afraid I cannot take you with me, even though I would love to right now. You see, you still have a purpose on this earth that has not been fulfilled yet. Once that is done you can do whatever you want to, but until then you have to live. Please try to understand this Larissa." _

Lifting her head up to look in Zack's eyes she says, "Ok I will live, but only for you and Aeris. No one else matters to me but you two." 

"_Now wait a minute Larissa. What about all the new friends you have made and the town of Lycia that you rebuilt? Don't those people have any impact on you whatsoever?" _

"Seeing what the townspeople of Lycia saw tonight I am sure they would not want me back. As for Cloud and the rest of the group I have only caused them more pain and misery. What good is a corrupted soul to anyone when all it does is cause mass destruction? That is why I want to leave it all. I want to be free." 

"_You will be when this is all over. I promise you that I will set you free, just hang in there a little bit longer." _Zack heaves a deep sigh before telling Larissa, _"I must tell you one other thing. In order to save you and your soul Aeris and I have to drain your body of all the Jenova cells in your bloodstream. Once that is done we will refill you with real human blood to keep you alive. Do you think your body can handle that?" _

"It will if I give you the blood type that is from my original body. That is the only blood I can receive without any complications."

"_Wonderful, I sure missed talking to you. I know you have been busy with your wing and everything else crashing down on you, but just look into the light and I will come. We have been so worried of something like this happening." _

"Yeah and of course in this case it was inevitable. I sure have missed you too Zack, you are so warm and inviting. You have always been my true friend throughout most of my ordeals besides Tseng. Tell me what the Promised Land is like. I have only been in that one bright room whenever I visit you guys." 

"_Well it's a luminous place full of all these people around the world that have come to rest. Everything is joyous and bright with all the happiness you could ask for. You will love it once your time comes."_

"That does sound nice; I cannot wait to be there with you."

"_Me either Larissa, Aeris and I will wait for you." _

Zack tightened his grip on Larissa slightly to make sure everything was still in one piece. When he did this her body went limp, and she fell into a deep sleep that she had not had in a month since her last visit with him. He decided to sit with her in his lap on the floor so she could sleep properly while he waited on Aeris to arrive with a great medical squad. 

Over in the corner Cloud could not believe his eyes as well as everyone else standing around the area. Tseng and Rufus were stunned to see that spirits really do exist when you needed them most. A few minutes past until Reno and Rude came back empty handed. They had looked all over town for a doctor, but disappointedly they all went on a little vacation to Costa del Sol.

Without thinking Cloud walked toward where Zack and Larissa were sitting on the white marble floor. Tifa tried to stop him, but it was no use he was definitely in a trance. When Cloud approached them he said, "Zack is that you?"

Turning his spiritual head away from Larissa to look at Cloud he flashed an old smile that he recognized and loved. _"Hey Cloud I see you have been doing pretty well these days. I am glad you are all better now." _

"Yeah I've been ok. Is Larissa going to be all right?" 

"_Don't you worry about a thing Cloud, Aeris and I will fix Larissa up good as new. I hope you have a fast runner who can break into a hospital. We are going to need a lot of blood from the Midgar Blood Bank. I would do it myself, but well you get the picture." _

Laughing Cloud replies, "Sure I can always make one of the Turks go and fetch a few pints of what she needs. Man I wish I wasn't so helpless."

"_Cloud, don't blame yourself anymore of things you can't control. I know if I were alive today I would be in the same boat your in along with everyone else. I am just glad she has a connection with us; otherwise I really don't know what the outcome would have been. Maybe you or Vincent would have reached out to her, who knows." _

"Funny those were almost the same exact words Larissa told me a while back. I guess I should stop worrying so much and let everything take its course."

"_Now you're talking Cloud. Everything happens for a reason that we usually discover when the journey is over. This feels like one of those things." _

"Yeah you got that right."

Looking down at Larissa again Cloud decides to sit by Zack and wait for whatever he was waiting for. Another 10 minutes pasted before a stream of white light came out of the sky. From out of the spotlight came Aeris with a huge team of doctors and nurses who were willing to do the job properly. Cloud stared at Aeris for a long time before she said to him, "_Hi Cloud how have you been? I am sure your life has been chaotic these days, but we are here to help. Zack how is she?" _

"_She's fast asleep right now. Are you guys ready to operate?" _

The whole team shouted hollow cheers of joy to be able to still do one last medical procedure out of their deceased lives. _"Ok we have all the equipment needed to do the operation. All we need now is the blood to complete it. I'm sorry Zack, but you are going to have to wake her up so she can tell us her blood type." _

Shaking Larissa awake she opens her eyes to see Aeris with a team of some sort and Cloud to the right of her. _"Hey Larissa long time no see," _says Aeris, _"I brought some paramedics with me, all we need to know now is your blood type so we can get you back on your feet. Do you remember it?"_

Breathing heavily, Larissa lifts her head to Aeris and says, "My blood type? Ugh, it's O I think. Yeah that's it, but why do you need it? I am dead right?"

"_I'm afraid not Larissa. We are going to send more blood through you so you can live again." _

"What? NO!! I don't want to be here anymore, do you hear me?! Let me go!"

Larissa started to struggle out of Zack's arms so she could get away somehow, but Vincent stopped her in her tracks. Tears ran down her face as she looked at Vincent and knew there was no way out. He came forward and kissed her forehead saying, "I know these times are hard, believe me I know. Let us help you like we have before. We can work wonders."

Zack got up from the floor just then and put his arms around her again to calm her the best way he knew how. Whispering in her ear he said, _"Vincent is right Larissa. Let these people help take care of you here and Aeris and I will take care of you elsewhere. Don't shut us out no matter how much it will hurt. We love you." _

This seemed to calm her down quite a bit and she settled back into Zack's arms. Tseng heard the blood type and immediately told Reno and Rude to carry as much blood type O containers they could from the Midgar Blood Bank. Meanwhile the paramedics took Larissa away from Zack and placed her on the floor, so they could drain her blood into these silver pans. One of the older doctors named Dr. Hyatt gently massaged her skin and noticed that he could peel it back to let all the blood out.

The other doctors caught on to the idea of pulling back the skin to make the operation easier. Dr. Hyatt's voice sounded calm and serene when he says to Aeris, _"Leave everything to us Aeris. The contaminated blood will be drained in no time and once the pure blood comes in we will start on the road to recovery." _

Aeris smiled and said to everyone else, _"All right everyone you heard Dr. Hyatt. Larissa will be just fine all we have to do now is wait."_

The doctors drained all the blood in minutes into all six silver pains that turned black because of the chemicals the Jenova cells were giving off. Reno and Rude brought in tons of pints of O blood type to replenish Larissa's body and spirit. Dr. Hyatt decided to pour the blood back in instead of using needles in a normal blood transfusion to save time.

Once all the blood flowed back in her body her soul went back into place, but something was wrong. When Larissa woke up she felt angry and tormented. Everyone formed a circle around her to see how she was feeling, but when they saw the look on her face they all stepped at least 3 feet back.

"I see that I have no way out. I have to save the Planet and it makes me sick. I know it's none of your fault it's all Hojo, Shinra, and Lucreica. Mainly Lucrecia's fault because she did not want her most precious son to be lonely. A son she could not even touch herself. I loathe that woman and what she has done to me and my life. She should be punished, tell me Chaos do you know what happened to her?"Vincent had to adjust his mind to Larissa's harsh words that he knew were true.

"Lucrecia is dead; she has been sealed away for good."

"Figures she would die since the Jenova cells practically killed her. Where can I find her sealed hideaway? I would love to pay her a visit." 

"That I will not tell you Larissa, she would be no use to you now."

"Ha, that is what you think. When are you going to get it through that thick head of yours that your love for her is worthless? She did not love you, she loved science. Lucreica only saved you because she felt bad about killing your father and the fact that you cared for her enough to stop her plans, which I wish could have succeeded. If you do not tell me then I guess I will have to go through your memories to find out." 

Before Vincent had time to react Larissa's hand was already gripping his forehead. The pain was unbearable, yet Larissa found exactly what she was looking for. "Well so she has sealed herself away in a cave on the other side of the world. Pretty good location if you ask me away from it all. Thanks Chaos for your services."

She let go of his forehead that left Vincent falling to the floor as if he were drained of life energy. "Now that I am rejuvenated I think I will make a visit to Lucrecia Crest. We have some serious business we need to discuss." 

"_Wait Larissa, do you not have anything to say to these people who have saved you?"_

Cloud believed that Zack would have said something completely different from that, but was sorely mistaken. Even Aeris looked at her with a hopeful smile that seemed out of character.

"Oh that's right Zack, thank you both for helping me recover so quickly. Dr. Hyatt and his team did excellent work. I will have to visit you guys again real soon. Now if you will excuse me I have an appointment with a scientist."

With that Larissa took her white wing and wrapped it around her body like Sephiroth did and vanished into thin air. Cloud turned on Zack and said, "Why didn't you stop her?! Don't you think Lucrecia is in grave danger now?"

"Cloud is right we must go after her, or at least I will to protect Lucreica from her clutches," says Vincent.

"_You do not seem to understand, we let Larissa go to Lucrecia because she has to. Her wing is going out of control still and she needs something similar to what Vincent has to control it. There has to be some kind of Materia she can make to control the vicious episodes she ha had with herself. The violence is tearing her soul apart, something Sephiroth wants. We will check on them though, so there is nothing left to worry about." _

Zack nodded in agreement and motioned for the paramedic crew to walk back into the light to head home. Aeris also followed suit and Zack said before leaving them, _"We will be keeping in touch with you guys if we can. Our time is up here on earth, we have to go. Bye and good luck." _

After that they were gone, back to Heaven where they belonged. The rest of the group did not know what else to do, but wait again to hear from Larissa. This waiting was killing them, especially Vincent and Cloud. Little did they know that their love for her would help save their lives in the future.


	18. More of Lucrecia's Woes

Transporting herself in front of the waterfall where Lucrecia's crystallized tomb was located, Larissa took a deep breath and entered through the only entrance available. When she arrived in front of Lucrecia's concealed body she reached out her right hand and called out, "Lucrecia we have business to discuss. Come forward and talk to me."

Lucrecia's eyes fluttered open when she saw Larissa and gasped at what she saw. In front of her was this rejuvenated woman with a white wing sprouting out of her right shoulder. Her skin appeared back to normal, yet there was a hint of heat coming from the newly constructed flesh. _"Who are you and what do you want with me?" _

"I am Larissa; your son's other half. How could you have forgotten about me so easily? I have come to demand that you make me something to control my wing. It is causing way too many problems. My soul is dissolving because the wing is draining the life energy for its own. You have to help, there is no other option."

Her eyes grew wide when she focused her vision on Larissa and remembered what she was looking at. How could have she forgotten, that was the next project she did when she found out she was pregnant with Sephiroth. She wanted to make a being made from Jenova cells to be with her son since she could not have another child. She did not want him to be lonely, a selfish act she sorely regretted at this point.

"_I am so sorry Larissa for the ordeal you must be going through. I really must confess that I do not know what I can do for you. I am died and would be of no use to you in making anything. I can try to give you information of whatever you like, all you have to do is ask." _

Chuckling Larissa says, "That is not the right answer I was looking for Lucrecia. I can make you whole again to suit my needs and you will do as I say. You owe me this much from all the hell you have put me through with the project and your son, who I will kill eventually. He seems to be living on a rotting spiritual thread that I would love to break if only he would stop running away. Now Lucrecia you must know of some kind of materia that will stop this madness. Do not make me search your brain like I did Vincent to find out where you were hiding."

"_Oh Larissa you didn't! I really don't have any idea what to make for you. Please just leave me alone, I am useless." _

"Lucrecia, I am trying to be on my best behavior and you are ruining it. If you do not rack your brain of some solution then I will have to do it for you. Now think you are the only one who will know what to do since you made the body for Hojo."

"_If only I had the research papers to refresh my memory, then this would not be so difficult."_

"Screw the damn papers! If I had those then I would not be in such a difficult position. Unfortunately they are buried with my original human body somewhere under the Shinra Mansion where Hojo's lab used to be, or so I believe."

"_What do you mean used to be?" _

"I had a little encounter with your son while I was investigating the mansion. We fought and the mansion came crashing down shortly after that. He also fled before anyone could really image him being there in the first place. The lab is of no use anyway because all those books are all on Sephiroth and his procedures. Mine are nowhere to be found in that lab except in that white freezer coffin he put me in."

"_Oh my God what I am to work with then?! I don't even know where to start, especially in your case."_

"You are not using your scientific brain that God gave you. Don't make me come over there and start it for you."

"_No, anything but that!"_

"Then think!"

Lucrecia closed her eyes very tightly and began to search through her brain for something that might be able to help Larissa out. Cruising through her memories she finally found what she was looking for, the Heavenly Tear. It is a special pure white materia that is made from ice crystals that form in the north where Aeris's original mother lived. With that and the right equipment she would be able to form the Heavenly Tear in a few days maybe even a month.

"_Ok I know what I can make for you. It's called the Heavenly Tear that is made from these special formulated ice crystals in the north. With these and the right lab equipment I can make it to suit your needs and to stop all your outlandish behavior. The only thing is you will have to harvest them for me and the equipment that I need to do it with."_

"It's nice to finally use your brain isn't it? It saves me the trouble of looking through memories you would love to forget. Fine, but you are coming with me to tell me what to do. Come we have no time to waste, I want to get this over with."

Drawing her out of the crystal tomb before Lucrecia could object, Larissa made her transparent so the trip would be easier to manage. _"Wait Larissa, do you know where we are supposed to go?" _

"Well you mentioned ice crystals so I figured we would go to Snowy Village to see what they know. I am sure they have a cavern or something near by we can check into."

"_That sounds like a well thought out plan Larissa."_

"Hey I have a brain too you know. Besides where else would anyone go to look for ice crystals? Let's go, take my hand and we will be off."

"_Hmm, even though you are hostel you are being way too nice to a woman who ruined your life. Why is that?" _

"I wouldn't get used to it. My soul is trying to reach out, but as you already know my wing is prohibiting it to do so. I need to save it, it's all I have left to stay sane."

"_Zack and Aeris seem to be able to control you pretty well."_

"Their power and love can only do so much in my state. I am way too far gone at this point, but it seems that hope still shines down on me when I need it most. Anyway let's go already."

Taking her hand, Larissa and Lucrecia warped to Snowy Village and were greeted warmly by one of the Eskimo type people who extended his hand out in hello. "Hi welcome to Snowy Village. My name is Isaac, what can I do for you?"

"You could not have picked a better time Isaac. I want to know all the information you have on ice crystals and I don't mean the regular kind you see everyday," says Larissa as cheerfully as she could.

"Well the only ice crystals that I know of besides the regular ones are the eerie blue kind that grows at the top of Snowy Mountain."

"Perfect, could you by any chance have a map of your Snowy Mountain?"

"Sure we have plenty of them, let me go get one for you." Isaac happily ran off in the direction of the tavern while Larissa waited in the bitter cold with Lucrecia blending in with the snow.

"_Well this certainly was perfect timing. Do you think he will want to come with us?"_

"Probably and if he does I will have to change his mind, hopefully not the hard way."

"_Yeah I hope so too. I wonder how many of those ice crystals are on the top of that huge mountain?"_

"I don't know, but be quiet he's coming back."

Lucrecia went back into the snow while Isaac showed the map to Larissa that was already marked where the ice crystals would be. "Here you are lady and I took the liberty of marking your map of where you need to go. I hope you have a safe trip, do you want me to accompany you?"

"No, that will not be necessary but thank you. I think I can manage on my own, goodbye Isaac."

Walking to the foot of the Snowy Village she waved before she disappeared into the snow along with Lucrecia following closely behind. "Ok take my hand again Lucrecia. I am glad that did not have to get ugly."

"_Yeah what a relief that was,"_ says Lucrecia with a deep sigh.

Holding onto Larissa's hand again they warped this time to the very top of the mountain where the blue ice crystals were plentiful.

"_I just noticed that Isaac did not question your wing at all. That's pretty hard to miss."_

"Not when it blends in really well with the snow. Honestly Lucrecia, do you ever use your eyes? Just because you have been died for a while does not mean your senses fade away into the dust. Mine seem to be intact for all the events it has gone through for the past few years. Remember I am died too."

Lucrecia cringed at Larissa's blunt way of putting her state, but she was right. Without that body of hers made from Hojo she would be dead or at least recovered if he did not use her for other reasons. Slowly walking toward the crystals, Larissa reached out her hand to touch one of them, but was instantly burned by its power.

"_Those who are tainted with evil cannot touch my most precious crystals without paying the price," _says a woman's voice coming from the snow.

"Who are you?" asks Larissa boldly.

"_If you must know I am one of the Guardians of this Planet, my name is Shiva. This is my domain that you are trespassing on and my question is why are you here?" _

"I have come to use your crystals to tame my power that has gone berserk. I guess I have to ask your permission before harvesting it."

"_Yes you do, but such a soul as yours does not deserve my help. All the crimes you have committed should be forbidden to use such a power as mine for aid." _

"This might be true Shiva, but it was not my decision to be this way. It is way too long of a story to reminisce about at this point. Just let me use your crystals and this will be all over."

"_Yes of course you did not choose this path for your future, which is what they all say when they come to me. Why should I believe you from all the others?" _

"If you look deep into my body you will see my soul crying out to the Planet. I think that should be enough proof for you Shiva."

The great Guardian Shiva materialized in front of them in a royal blue gown with ice crystals hanging from her head to represent her hair. People were definitely right when they said Shiva was the most beautiful Guardian of them all. Peering into Larissa's body she saw her soul's continual cry to the Planet to help her survive this tragic ordeal.

"_My God what has happened to you?! _

"Science," says Larissa hollowly.

Shiva's eyes opened wide at Larissa's response and said, _"Yes it seems science has destroyed many lives over the years. Well you have definitely convinced me to help you, but you are still unable to touch them because your soul is tainted with evil. Only a pure hearted person can touch my crystals, once they are in the hands of that person you can take them and use them for whatever you like." _

"Lucrecia do you think you can touch them? I know you have not done so well yourself, but your soul is pretty pure from where I stand."

"_Lucrecia Crest is here with you? How did you manage that?"_

"I took her spirit from her tomb and brought her with me to help out. She is the only one who can make what I need and I need it desperately as you can see. Lucrecia show yourself to Shiva."

Lucrecia came out of the snow and presented herself to Shiva to see if she would pass the test to touch the ice crystals she had longed to find when she was alive.

"_Hmm, it seems her soul is a little tainted too. I am sorry, but she will not due."_

"Well Shiva what person do you suggest?"

"_I do not know that is something you need to decide." _

"What do you mean I have to decide?! You are the one who will approve of them or not."

"_Do you know of anyone in the Spirit World that might work for this?" _ask Lucrecia quietly behind them.

Suddenly an image came to Larissa's mind. "Of course, why didn't I think of her before? Aeris, the Savior of the Planet, she's perfect for this. If any soul were pure it would be hers."

"_Ah yes Aeris's soul is pure that is to be expected, but she is not the Savior of the Planet."_

"What are you talking about? Aeris has to be because she sacrificed her life to bring Holy to this world to protect it from that meteor. Who else would it be?"

"_The new Savior of the Planet is you Larissa. You are the one who will rid this Planet of all the pure evil that it has offered in the past. You are the key to destroying Sephiroth and you already killed Jenova, something no one else has been able to accomplish. Aeris was the Savior of the Planet until you came into the picture. Now the tables have turned to you, make the fight worth it." _

Larissa stood in front of Shiva stunned by the news of her becoming the Savior of the Planet instead of Aeris, who deserved the title more than anyone else.

"_Do you have a way of contacting her Larissa?" _

"I can try from her Shiva, though it might take a few minutes."

Larissa closed her eyes to picture Aeris's smiling face to bring her here with Lucrecia and Shiva. Her soul faintly reached out to the sky and was instantly taken to the Spirit World. She was immediately greeted by Zack who rushed to her faded soul to see what she wanted. Larissa's voice was faint, but audible.

"Zack I need to see Aeris. She is the only one who can help me on this one."

"_No problem Larissa. I'll be right back." _

Dashing off into the shadows of the Spirit World, Zack came back shortly with Aeris at his side ready for action.

"Good thing you're still able to communicate with the world Aeris. Shiva will not let me take possession of her ice crystals unless a person with a pure heart comes to see her. Will you help me?"

"_Why sure Larissa, but what do you want with Shiva's ice crystals?"_

"They are going to help me control my wing like Vincent controls Chaos. Lucrecia is going to make me a type of materia that will do this. Now please hurry I don't have that much time left to be here."

Aeris motioned for Zack to stay put while she left with Larissa to visit Shiva for a little bit. She was excited that there was something out there to help Larissa, yet the one main question that she wanted to ask was how Lucrecia is going to do this. Stepping through the portal to the top of Snowy Mountain, Aeris's question was answered right in front of her eyes. Larissa called on Lucrecia to help and made her whole like she did last night with Zack and their team.

Larissa returned her tortured soul back to her body and focused her vision on Aeris to make her whole as well. When Shiva saw this she says, _"So you have the power to use anyone in anyway you see fit, interesting." _

"Yeah that is pretty much the plan and how I get by with many things. In any case will Aeris do for your ice crystals?"

"_Yes without a doubt she does have a pure heart. Well Aeris to you permit Larissa and Lucrecia to use my ice crystals to form this Heavenly Tear?"_

"_Yes I do Shiva."_

"_All right then my child come forward and claim what you need. I hope you know how much Lucrecia."_

"_Yes we need at least five pounds of your ice crystals for this Heavenly Tear to work. It needs more power than the original because of what it is dealing with." _

"_My God that is so much of my power that you are using! What exactly are we dealing with here?" _

"Sephiroth, Shinra, and Jenova or I should say what is left of her," says Larissa coldly.

"_The battle still rages on I see. In that case, take as much as you need," _says Shiva as she removes the barrier over her ice crystals to let Aeris harvest them for Lucrecia and Larissa to use.

Aeris went forward cautiously and took five pounds worth of Shiva's great electric blue crystals and handed them to Lucrecia, who accepted them with gratitude and excitement.

"_I am glad I could help you out once again. Call on me or Zack anytime." _

"Will do Aeris, take care."

The portal opened again to let Aeris back into the Spirit World while Shiva turned to them as she left. _"I also hope that my power will aid you on your quest. Goodbye Lucrecia and Larissa."_

A gust of wintry snow came in at high speed that covered Shiva's immaculate body back into her sealed cave. When she was gone from view Larissa grabbed Lucrecia's hand once again to warp back to her secluded cavern.

Back inside Lucrecia's tomb, Lucrecia gently placed the crystals down on the hard illuminated floor and started to figure what kind of equipment she needed and how she was going to do the procedure.

"_Well I know of only one way the materia will fit in your body. Once I make it, it should sink into your Jenova made body where your wing is on the right. When it comes into place it should not give you problems. If we are lucky your wing will disappear back inside your body. Then you will be able to take it out whenever you want to."_

"That sounds fantastic Lucrecia! All right then let's get to work."

"_I would Larissa if I had the right equipment to do it in." _

Heaving a deep sigh Larissa says, "Oh yeah you need equipment to do this. Well what is it? I will go and steal it for you right now."

"_I must say that it will not be that easy to steal. You see I need to use the whole Midgar lab in order for this to work properly. I cannot do it here."_

"Ok we will go tonight and you can use as much technology as you want from the Midgar laboratory. I can put any of those Turks to sleep along with other guards around the place. I hope you have a plan in mind to make the Heavenly Tear."

"_It's forming slowly but surely Larissa. But I must say it will take me some time to develop it."_

"How long is some time Lucrecia?"

"_At least a month or two for the Heavenly Tear to fully ripen."_

"What?! Do you realize that I do not have that kind of time?"

"_What do you mean?"_

"I don't believe my soul can hang on that long. You saw it yourself, it is dissolving and I need something that will keep that from happening. I must not let Sephiroth and Jenova win. If this continues and I loose my soul, then I am going to self destruct on the world. The entire human race will be wiped out because of me and what my Jenova body tells me to do. You will have to be quicker than two months. I might be able to go for one though."

Lucrecia felt trapped in this one because of the time shortage. One month to prepare a control for Larissa would be suicidal, yet what else was new.

"_You know with only one month to make the Heavenly Tear that it has a higher possibility of not working? It might rebel against you for whatever reason it has." _

"I know the odds of this working are completely against me, but it's better than doing nothing at all. Do everything you can to make it work, the clock is ticking. Tonight we will sneak into the Midgar laboratory and take what you need to do this. It should be done here if we can manage it."

"_Ok that would be for the best." _

"Yes it would be."

Those were Larissa's last words to Lucrecia as she settled herself onto the floor to sleep. Her strength would be heavily needed later on this reckless journey. Lucrecia decided to place her transparent body in front of her human one because she felt like she had to guard it for some reason.

Night came upon them quickly to where Lucrecia had to wake Larissa up from her slumber. A little irritated to be awaken from her dreamless sleep Larissa glares at Lucrecia with distaste and says, "What do you want Lucrecia? This better be worth my time."

Sighing in desperation she says, _"I cannot believe you have forgotten already. We have to break into the Midgar Laboratory, so I can work on making you the Heavenly Tear. You still want to have control of your situation don't you?" _

Springing to her feet, Larissa replies, "You know I do, sorry for the mind delay. Come on we need to hurry."

Grabbing Lucrecia's hand roughly Larissa warps to the lab and disconnects the alarm from the outside. Kicking the door open they made their way inside to take whatever they needed to do the materia. Lucrecia pointed to the tools she had to have in order to make the Heavenly Tear faster. Larissa took them willingly until Lucrecia ran out of orders to steal anything else. Walking back out into the freezing night air of December, Larissa took Lucrecia's hand again and they were back in her cavern ready to get to work.

The rest of December went by uneventfully with Avalanche since Larissa was not around. The only thing that brought them joy through the New Year was hearing that Maddox and his parents were moving to Midgar because they grew to love the city life. Now Marlene and Denzel could play with him anytime they wanted to. The month of January went by slowly as Vincent had the urge to visit Lucrecia to see if Larissa was there and to see if everything was ok. In fact he was not the only one who wanted to visit the hidden cavern. Practically the whole gang wanted to hop on Cid's airship to go to the same location. What was happening to the world now was questionable since Larissa actually killed Jenova. The nagging question that bothered them was what was happening to Sephiroth? He disappeared without a trace, just like he always does.

When January was drawing to a close Lucrecia made a new materia that she only dreamed of for at least 10 years, she could not wait to try it out.

"_Larissa, the Heavenly Tear is finally complete. Are you ready?" _

As the month went by Larissa stayed in a secluded corner of the cavern, and went into a deep sleep again to stay out of the way of Lucrecia's work. Turning her fragile body toward the left corner of her tomb, she realized that Larissa did not even hear her at all. She apparently was still asleep, so Lucrecia wondered over quietly to shake her awake.

When Lucrecia approached Larissa's body she noticed that her soul was barely hanging on by a thread of life energy. Pitying her even more Lucrecia silently released a tear that fell onto the floor right in front of Larissa's feet. Larissa's electrifying golden eyes popped open instantly at the fall of Lucrecia's tear.

"You pity me Lucrecia? How nice of you, but it is not needed. I know you feel awful of what you have done and I have come to terms of forgiveness. If Vincent can forgive you for what you have done to him, then I can too. Science can lead anyone to do anything that seems right at that time, but be a horrible mistake in the future. We are moving too fast to keep up with what is right or wrong in this world. Save those tears for someone who really deserves them."

"_You do deserve them Larissa. What I have done…"_

Larissa interrupts her with, "Lucrecia, in order to release your burdens you must accept the forgiveness from those who have given it. How else do you expect the healing process to begin? I am trying to help you, even though your help to me has been far greater. Please just take my advice and let's get this experiment under way."

Lucrecia did not argue the matter further as she helped Larissa off of the stone floor, so the Heavenly Tear could enter her body properly.

"_Here it is Larissa, the Heavenly Tear." Are you ready for it?"_

"Yes Lucrecia I think I am. Let's do it."

Lucrecia took her transparent hand to guide the materia toward Larissa. Once it became in contact with Larissa's skin, it let off an eerie blue glow that reacted with her wing. The impact was intense as the Heavenly Tear sank into Larissa's right shoulder. Blue light surrounded her as it made its way through the first layer of skin to connect to the root of where the wing was coming from.

When the materia finally found a resting place inside Larissa something went terribly wrong. It started to resurface and in a matter of seconds the Heavenly Tear sprang out of Larissa's body as if it were on fire. Falling to the floor, Larissa cursed under her breath and said, "I should have known this was not going to be this easy. Heavenly Tear why do you reject me?"

"_There is nothing for me to hold on to in your time of need. Your soul is only a thin thread that will break if I touch it. If you want my help then you have to reunite your soul with its rightful owner. Once that task is complete your soul will be able to take on more things. Until then I can do nothing." _

"Will you still be here while I go on a journey to retrieve my body?"

"_Yes I will stay here in this cavern until you return." _

"Ok good. Looks like I have another trip to make before this can be done Lucrecia. I will be back later, guard the Heavenly Tear will you?"

"_Yes of course I will Larissa." _

Larissa nods her head in approval and teleports right out of Lucrecia's cave to Nibelheim where her body is supposedly buried under the Shinra Mansion. While she took off to another location, Avalanche back in Midgar was growing worried again because of Larissa's absence. Where could she be? What was she doing now?


	19. The Strength of Teamwork and Forgiveness

Arriving back in Nibelheim, Larissa marched straight for the smoothed earth where the great Shinra Mansion once stood. Seeing how the Turks edged things out, they did a decent job. Larissa pictured the mansion in her mind to figure out where the lab used to be. When she finally remembered where to go Larissa walked slowly on the ground to the left of the huge vacant lot. She also tried to let her spirit find her lost body in the white steel casket that has been buried or hidden for years.

Larissa was only a few inches away from the left center portion of the mansion when she stepped on something solid. Good thing she arrived in the twilight, otherwise the townspeople would be questioning her endlessly about her strange behavior. Using only her bare hands, Larissa got down on her hands and knees and began to dig through the oozing earth that penetrated through her fingers.

After 10 minutes had passed, Larissa's hands hit a metal object of some sort. She continued to dig down since she had struck the head of the object first. Once all of the dirt was removed, she revealed the white steel casket that supposedly still had her human body trapped inside when the experiment failed. Larissa at this point raised herself into a crouching position and used both of her hands to heave the casket out of the ground. The ominous casket seemed to be a worthy opponent against Larissa's depleting strength, for it took all she had maybe even more to lift it to the surface.

Now that the casket was next to Larissa on the earth's soil, she decided to open it up right there instead of taking it somewhere else for a better observation. The clasps in Larissa's hands felt cold and lifeless as she tried to undo them in the total darkness. When the locks did give way a strange hiss came from the lid and the top swung upward slowly. A mystic haze came pouring out of the coffin that made Larissa shield her eyes only for a moment.

When the haze cleared all Larissa found in the coffin was old reports on herself and how she was made, written in Hojo's steady hand. Cursing violently under her breath again, Larissa searched through her own reports to see if Hojo might have left some clue to where her body would be now. Running the pages quickly in her hands her eyes caught what she was looking for. On the top of one of the reports it read: _I better relocate the body to the Nibelheim Crater, so as not to ruin the corpse. If it stays in the coffin it will surely rot away. _

Moving her golden eyes away from the report, she focused them on the long darkened trail that led to the Nibelheim Crater. It would be dangerous no doubt, but luckily she could transport herself anywhere she chose. Larissa placed the documents back into her casket and closed the lid tight. After this was done Larissa rose to her feet while placing her left hand on the coffin to teleport everything to the foot of the Nibelheim Crater.

Looming before Larissa was the Nibelheim Crater that brought back so many horrible memories for anyone who paid it a visit. Using her power she lifted the coffin off of the ground and made it follow her every move into the crater. Everything seemed to be the same; even the smell and atmosphere of the place remained intact.

Larissa followed the familiar path into the next room where all the red pods used to contain specimen of all kinds infected with the Jenova cell. Walking in with the coffin floating behind her, Larissa guided the coffin to the right corner of the room and lowered it gently to the floor. Now it was time to examine each pod to see which one had Larissa's body in it. Cruising along the first row she did not find her body, but other species of Jenova cells still inhabited the pods. This made Larissa uneasy. If she had really killed Jenova, then why were these specimen still alive in the pods? They were supposed to die along with her weren't they?

On the second floor of the pods Larissa finally found her body on the left hand side, it seemed Hojo had a thing about everything for Larissa to be on the left, which was odd because her wing is on the right of her body. Anyway Larissa approached her human body with haste and peered inside the medium sized window to see it. Her instant reaction was her heart pumping loudly against the aluminum surface of the red pod. Then her brain started to speed up next and before she knew it her spirit started to rise out of her body to reach out for her real one.

Quickly Larissa backed away from the pod and saw that her spirit was still trying to reach out to it. "Stop this madness already, you know as well as I do that you cannot go back just yet," Larissa told herself.

"_But I am right there, let me go back. I can almost feel my flesh, my warmth," _said her spirit.

"Those pleasantries will have to wait a little while longer."

"_Oh right, let me waste away like this instead of my original form. Now that I think about it, we might be too late. My soul is almost gone."_

"Don't say such things now; Lucrecia has come through, for she made the Heavenly Tear that will keep us together. Where is the faith you used to have?"

"_It has vanished along with the rest of my being, what is there to live for?" _

"What do you mean what is there to live for?! We need to live for the Planet and our friends who are depending on us. I know I have treated my friends brutally, even though they have helped me the most. The truth is I love them and the joy they have given me. Without them I would not have made it this far."

Larissa noticed that when she backed away from the pod she landed on the first floor of the room. Trying to find her balance once her spirit went back inside; Larissa lost it and collapsed onto the cold gritty floor. Her spirit was right, she was slowly wasting away and she needed help desperately. But the Spirit World could not help her this time; it looks like Avalanche will have to step in on this one.

Crumbled on the floor, Larissa was truly a broken spirit trying to hold on for all it was worth. Mustering up the rest of her strength she did the only thing she could think of, she was going to try and contact Vincent through telepathy. Hopefully he will respond and the rest of the team will help too.

"_I pray that this will work. Vincent, Vincent can you hear me?" _

All across the ocean and through the terrain, a brain wave came to Midgar and found the host it was looking for. Vincent was inside 7th Heaven at the time sitting in a booth reading a newspaper, which all the customers questioned as they observed him in the corner by the window. When he flipped the page, he heard the faint wave and dropped the paper on the table suddenly. The customers all turned to him and noticed that his eyes were dilated. They all thought it was the gas prices that were making him angry because they were increasing a little bit this year.

The customers returned to their meals while Vincent strained to hear that voice he thought his mind was imagining. He only heard that voice when she was near by, why would he be hearing it now?

"_Vincent if you hear this please answer it. Your mind is not playing games, it's really me."_

Vincent took up the paper again to pretend like he was reading because he did not want to attract too much attention from his concentrated expression. When he was ready he asks, _"Larissa, Larissa is that really you?" _

"_Oh thank the Heavens you answered. Yes Vincent it really is me."_

"_Really? Man Larissa I am so glad to hear your voice. What has been going on, we haven't seen you in a while."_

"_Well it is a little bit of a long story, but I know one thing. I have no right to ask you or anyone else of Avalanche to help me, yet sadly I have run out of options. Will you hear me out?" _

"_Larissa what has happened, are you alright? I want to hear everything."_

"_Well I am at the Nibelheim Crater right now and I need someone in a human state to take my human body out of the crater's pods. I would do it, but my spirit keeps trying to enter the body. If that happens I will die and Lucrecia's new invention will be worthless. I realize that I have been a monster and not cared for you all enough, but will you help me? I will understand perfectly if you all want to back out. It's not like I have plenty of time anyway."_

"_What do you mean?" _

"_My spirit is slowly fading away. If my spirit does not take the life energy from my human body to restore it, then the Heavenly Tear cannot go inside my body and can control it. Kind of what the ProtoMateria does to control Chaos in your body. _

"_We will be right there. Do not worry any longer. I will drag everyone there if I have to, but you will be saved just hang on a little bit longer."_

"_I will be waiting to see your charming face and everyone else. Thank you so much." _

"_No problem, see you in a few minutes. It shouldn't take long." _

Vincent quickly folded the paper and rushes to Tifa at the counter. "Tifa," Vincent orders, "call everyone and tell them to meet me in the broad room. It is an emergency that we have to address as soon as possible."

Tifa did as she was told without asking any questions yet because of Vincent's determined stare, it frightened her a little bit since his eyes were red. Seeing eyes like those pour into someone can really make anyone feel dismayed.

Vincent pushed through the broad room doors with brute force as the rest of the gang filed in and took seats at the long mahogany table. "Ok Vincent we're all here, now tell us what this is all about," says Yuffie cheerfully.

"Yeah I was having a great time with the kids tonight and you ruined it," complains Barett.

"Someone close the doors," says Vincent coolly before telling them what he was going to say. Reeves volunteered willingly to shut the double doors and neatly sat back down beside Shelke and Nanaki.

"I just got word from Larissa; she is in the Nibelheim Crater and needs our help. We have to do it immediately and that means tonight."

"Now just wait a damn minute Vince. You mean we all have to run out to my airship since that is the only kind of transportation, and fly to Nibelheim Crater to help her out? I don't know about you guys, but why should we do it. She always goes off and leaves us in the dark, then when she needs us she reappears. I don't like that at all," says Cid irritably.

"I agree with Cid completely," says Barett.

The rest of the group remained silent except Cloud who said, "I'm with you Vincent, just tell me how we can get there."

Vincent smiled and responses, "I knew I could count on you Cloud and since I have his vote I will tell you the rest of the story. Larissa needs human help such as us to take her body out of one of those pods in the crater. Once the life energy out of her human body corresponds with her spirit, then the Heavenly Tear that Lucrecia made for her will control her state of being. If we should fail to help her now she will die. Now who wants to help Larissa?"

Everyone at that moment raised their hand and quickly ran out of their seats to head out to Cid's airship parked on the beach. Cid ordered all of his crew out of bed and commanded them to take off for Nibelheim. With a few grumbles and groans they all got ready for the trip while everyone else loaded up for the ride. "Alright everyone, get ready because we have to make a trip to Nibelheim that needs to take us 1 minute, 2 at the most. Come on step on it!"

The crew obeyed Cid's orders hastily as they made all the adjustments to make this kind of flight possible. The rest of the gang strapped themselves in for the ride while Larissa lay on the grimy floor of the crater waiting to be rescued once again.

The trip actually took them about a minute to arrive at Nibelheim, which made Cid happy that he could do such a task with his repaired airship. "Sorry everyone, but we will have to make it to the Nibelheim Crater on foot since my airship is way too big to park near it." Vincent did not wait for a reply from anyone; he just rose from his chair and quickly dashed out of the airship to the cobbled path into Nibelheim. Cloud ran right behind him with the rest of the gang at his heels.

The townspeople of Nibelheim all peered out the window to see who was entering the town so late at night. All they saw was a man with red bloodshot eyes running past with a group of diverse looking people to the Nibelheim Crater. They wanted to call the police, but seeing that tattered caped man's eyes made them think better of it. Climbing the steep rocky path to the crater, Vincent could sense Larissa's state of mind and knew that it was serious. He ran even faster to reach Larissa before it was too late to do anything for her at all. Cloud noticed the quickening pace and began to do the same thing, motioning the others to follow.

Vincent ran right through the opening of the crater without checking for security reasons that Tifa and Yuffie thought he should do. Instead of climbing the ladder like a normal human, Vincent decided to float up there to save some time to see if he could do anything for Larissa. "I'm going ahead to see what we need to do, see you all when you get there," says Vincent as he makes his way up to the top level of the crater.

Cloud and the rest of the gang took the long way of climbing the ladder to see Larissa. Once Vincent made it to the top he saw Larissa crumbled on the floor completely disabled. He ran immediately to her side and shook her gently to see if she was still conscious. For a few moments she did not move until her eyes flickered on and off for a while. When she noticed that it was Vincent who had come to see her she opened her eyes all the way to let in his dark handsome face.

"Vincent, I am so glad you came to see me. Tell me honestly did you come alone?"

Smiling Vincent says, "No Larissa, the rest of our friends are coming up the ladder as we speak. It will just take them longer to arrive since I flew my way up here. Tell me honestly how are you feeling?"

"Completely drained as you can see, I feel so weak and a real burden on you all. I know once this is done I will be able to take care of myself like I used to. No more running around in the dark for anyone anymore."

"I don't care what we have to do as long as your still here. That's all I need to know," says Vincent soothingly.

At that moment Cloud emerges from the ladder and runs to Vincent's side to see Larissa slacked because her life is fleeing away. "Larissa, why didn't you send for us earlier? You know Vincent and I would show up at least. Please tell me what can I do to help?"

Larissa turns her head towards Cloud and reveals a sorrowful loving smile that only meant that she cared for his support as well as the others. Then she turned back to Vincent and telepathically said,_ "Vincent, I can no longer use my voice. I will have to communicate through you. Is that ok?" _

"_That is fine with me Larissa, I would be happy to do it." _

"Ok everyone I have to confess something," says Vincent. Everyone gathered around to hear Vincent's deep raspy voice better. "When I first met Larissa we became really close friends because we had so much in common. Soon she decided to share one of her powers with me. That power is Telepathy; I can communicate with her with my mind. It is very difficult to master, but it's a good thing that we have it now. I am going to be Larissa's communicator since she has lost the power to speak."

Cloud knelt there in silence along with Tifa who was always right behind him. The rest of Avalanche all rested against the steal red walls of the crater, waiting for instructions.

"_Vincent, I need someone to go up to the second floor on the left side to retrieve my body. It needs to be drained of the liquid that keeps it fresh, then disconnected from the cables that hold it in place." _

"Larissa has just told me that someone needs to go to the second floor to the left of this room to release her body from one of the pods. That person has to drain it and take off the cables that bind the body to the inside of the pod. Who would like to volunteer? I would but she needs a whole human person to do it, I have Chaos and it might send off a nuclear reaction to the chemicals."

"I will do it Vincent," says Cloud while already walking up to the second floor to the pod that Larissa was indicating. As Cloud passed Tifa took a good look at Larissa and all she saw were empty eyes staring off into space. It was so frightening that she turned away to look at Cloud instead.

Cloud made it to the second floor in no time and was already at the last pod to the left, but looked at Vincent with confusion. "Vincent, how am I supposed to drain it?"

Vincent turned to Larissa for an answer and she responded with, _"Push the black lever at the foot of the pod to the right. That will drain all of the chemicals to the bottom of the crater." _

"She says to push the lever at the bottom of the pod to the right. It should drain all the chemicals out to the pit of the crater."

"Ok I got it," Cloud shouts down to them as his pushes the lever to the right. At first nothing seemed to happen until a huge flushing noise came from within the pod. When Cloud looked through the window he saw her body dangling there and realized that Larissa has had a harder time surviving than the rest of them. Waiting for the chemicals to drain, Tifa worried of what Larissa's body would look like. Hopefully it was not as scary as her form right now.

Once all the chemicals were out Cloud unlocked the red pod door to a hazy mist that poured out slowly just like the casket. Peering inside to see what he would find, he found the true Larissa strapped to the back of the pod like some sort of animal. Cloud moved his fingers along the cables to see where to unhook them. On the back of her wrists were latches that connected to the aluminum prison, he decided to start there.

After the wrists were free he worked on her feet and then he undid the bared chemical wire surrounding her perfectly proportioned waist. When all of the wires came undone Cloud unfastened the last cord around her neck to set her free. Larissa's human body fell into Cloud's outstretched arms as he picked it up gingerly from the pod and carried it down to Larissa's feet. Cloud could not hold back his curiosity, for he peered down at Larissa to see what she was supposed to look like. This was a slight mistake on Cloud's part because when he looked at her he saw the scars left by Hojo's experiment.

But looking past all the abuse that body had gone through he saw Larissa as she was and felt a familiar emotion flow back into his veins. He recognized a few seconds later to be love and not the kind of love a person feels out of pity. No, this was true love that he had never experienced before. In a way it was similar to love at first sight, but in completely different circumstances.

When Cloud laid the body in front of Larissa she could tell that something was different in the way he looked at her. His electric blue eyes really said it all, that his heart was beginning to beat in ways she could not understand. It was growing stronger. The gang still stood there waiting to see what was going to happen next and Vincent did not take his eyes off of her for a moment.

"_Thank you everyone, I really mean that. The rest will be up to me now, but do you all mind staying here with me?" _

Vincent turned to the group and said, "Larissa gives her thanks to everyone here who has helped her, she really means it. She also said the rest is up to her to fix, but she would like it if we all stayed with her to see it through."

Everyone in the crater shook their heads in agreement and lingered on for Larissa to do something. As Larissa saw the support she had from them she slowly raised her right hand and said in her mind, _Lucrecia it is time, come to me." _

Back in the cavern Lucrecia heard her calling and grasped the Heavenly Tear to take along with her. After a few moments a white portal opened where Vincent kneeled beside Larissa. Once he heard the sound he immediately sprang to his feet with his Death Penalty raised. But when he saw Lucrecia emerging from the white fog he quickly placed his prized gun back into its holster.

"_I am here Larissa with the Heavenly Tear. Tell me what to…"_

Lucrecia did not finish her sentence when she saw Larissa's human form on the floor and all the damage left by Hojo. She fell to her knees and cried, _"What have I done to you?!" _

"_Lucrecia this is not the time. I will talk to you once this is all done and over with. Please put the Heavenly Tear over my human body."_

Lucrecia released the erupting materia from her hands and watched it float toward Larissa. The Heavenly Tear reacted instantly to her human body and it began to absorb the life energy to repair her soul that has fallen apart. Everyone watched in awe at the process and even Cid felt guilty for what he said before they arrived. Barett also felt a pinch of guilt and pity for her because she was the strongest of them all. By looking at her now on the floor he realized that anyone can conquer what seems impossible.

When the Heavenly Tear absorbed enough life energy to pursue its purpose, it began to speak like it did before. It said to Larissa, _"You have overcome many obstacles and you still strive to live. I am very proud to have lent you my power to save this Planet once again from destruction. This materia of mine will restore your spirit, but not completely. There is only so much I can do for you, yet it will keep your body together. Now reach for the light I am giving you and take this Heavenly Tear that you rightly deserve."_

Larissa could not believe she had to find strength from somewhere to operate her depleting motor skills. It took more strength than Larissa had to offer. With a feeble hand that shook violently, Larissa reached for the Heavenly Tear's light, but was unable to grasp it. When the light touched her fingers the Heavenly Tear moved forward and sunk into her hand. It made its way through her transparent arm and centered itself right below the core of her wing. The blue light coming from the materia exploded in Larissa's chest and flowed through her body to her soul. It wrapped its power around her body and completely restored her back to her formal self before the wing sprouted. To everyone's relief the wing disappeared back into her spine and her eyes began to blink again.

"Wow, it sure is a wonderful feeling to have your motor skills back. Hello everyone," says Larissa dreamily.

Her human body remained at her feet, but was not forgotten because Larissa's revived soul still tried to reach out to it. She solved that pretty easily when she used her power to lift the casket over everyone's head and placed it softly by her feet as well. Before placing the body back inside, Larissa asked Lucrecia, "My files are inside this casket Lucrecia, would you like to look at them?"

Lucrecia shook her head no while crystal tears dripped down her face. Larissa placed the body back inside where it belonged for the time being and walked over to Lucrecia. When she stood before her Larissa took Lucrecia in a warm embrace and said, "You have done wonders for me Lucrecia. I could not ask for anything more and I am truly grateful. I do have one more request though, would you like to hear it?"

She shook her head yes this time and waited for the order. "Good, well Lucrecia I would like it if you stopped crying. You should be happy because of the accomplishment you have done for me. None of this is your fault, we were all prone to science at one point and we try to make the best decisions we can at that time. I know I am not proud of what I have done, but I still move forward to live a better life. And most of all I do forgive you Lucrecia. Please tell me you will be happy from now on."

Lucrecia looked up at Larissa and began to sob even harder. Through her sobs she replied, _"Thank you for everything. I… I hope that you do live to see the world. What you said just now, I never thought I would hear those words from anyone. Please call on me anytime, I would love to help you again." _

Holding her tighter to her chest, Larissa wiped away all of Lucrecia's tears and planted a tender kiss on her forehead. "Have a wonderful life in the Promised Land; I know now that you will rest peacefully. Goodbye Lucrecia."

Lucrecia left Larissa's embrace reluctantly and walked back to the portal, but before leaving them she runs to Vincent and says, _"I hope that your life will be brighter too. I do care for you Vincent and I always will. And thank you for visiting me when you did, goodbye." _ She planted a delicate kiss on his cheek and rushed through the portal to reunite with Aeris and Zack in the Spirit World. With Lucrecia gone Larissa turned to the others and stood there to look at them properly.

"I cannot believe all of you came, it feels me with joy. I know I have been a real asshole to all of you and I just want to say thanks for staying by my side. I know that must not have been easy for anyone, but luckily my wing is under control. There should not be anymore out breaks of any kind unless something goes wrong."

Yuffie was the first one to hug Larissa and say, "I am so glad you are back Larissa. That other side of you was way too scary."

"Yeah that sure was a hell of a ride you sent me on Larissa, but it was worth it," says Cid.

"Cid's actually right on this one and the kids are gonna love seeing you again," says Barett happily.

Reeves gave her a charming smile while Shelke ran toward Larissa to give her a hug too. Even Nanaki came to rub against her ankles to show he cared and Cait Sith hugged her head. Of course Tifa smiled her usual smile when things were going well and Vincent's red eyes glowed with joyful brilliance. Cloud was the only one who looked at her differently than anyone one else because of his heart. It has not ceased since he took out her human body from the red pod. When Larissa looked upon him she knew that he had felt something he was not supposed to. Love was the last emotion she wanted Cloud to feel at a time like this, she was still unstable.

She knew that Vincent was in love with her for other reasons they could only explain. Vincent had already accepted the pain that might follow them, but Cloud was a whole other category. Hopefully it will fade away is what Larissa was praying for.

"Well since everything is back to normal, what do we do now?" asks Tifa.

"We destroy everything in this crater. These entire specimens that are still from Jenova are living in these pods. I think they should be disposed of so we can avoid any more problems," says Larissa.

"What, do you mean that the specimens are still alive? How can that be, you killed Jenova over a month ago," says Yuffie.

"Maybe it is because that Jenova was mine and not Sephiroth's because I have not heard him scream yet. I think these specimens are his and if so then we need to act now," says Larissa back.

"And how do you suppose we do that Larissa? I am sure you have a fine idea that we can use," says Cid with an eager smile.

"Sure Cid, just take a sharp utensil and stab the creature through the heart. Of course we have to drain all the pods first. It should be simple since they are all lifeless, but it is good to take precautions just in case."

Barett says, "Alright lets get to work then. Split up and drain the place."

The process took no time at all to drain the chemicals and to open the pods to kill whatever inhabited inside it. Everyone took turns using one of Yuffie's specialized ninja knifes to kill the entire specimen in the red aluminum pods. Once they were all disposed of the gang turned to Larissa for more instructions.

When they found her, she was standing in front of Jenova's door with her hand pressed against the opening. Larissa lifted her hand off of the door and went inside to investigate. There was a pulse of Jenova left that Larissa could feel. The only problem was how big it was going to be.


	20. Jenova's Existence Vanquished

The door to Jenova was left open as Larissa entered to see what she would find. Against the very back wall she saw the Jenova that Shinra kept hidden from the public to use for their experiments. She also noticed that the head was missing from her mechanic body that the mad scientists created to hold her on earth. Cloud came right behind Larissa to see what was left of Jenova too. He has not been there for quite some time and thought the Jenova in this place would be dead.

"Why is this Jenova's head detached from the body?" asks Larissa.

"About 7 years ago is when Sephiroth went insane and he came to Nibelheim Crater to supposedly set his mother free. When Zack and I arrived we fought him because we knew something wasn't right. Zack of course was thrown against one of the columns by Sephiroth's deadly sword wounds, and I was the one who threw Sephiroth into the Lifestream along with Jenova's head that he took with him. He kept saying that he would be back to conquer the world for the Cetra with his mother," informs Cloud at the entrance of the room.

"How bizarre and naïve can that retched human be?! Thinking Jenova was his real mother, how idiotic," remarks Larissa with disgust.

"But Larissa he does not remember anything about his childhood or his parents. All he remembers is how he was created from Hojo's reports. That's way he went insane and the other reason why he wants to destroy the human race."

"He does not remember anything of his past, how did that happen?"

"That's the mystery no one can seem to solve," says Reeves once he found a way into the room. "They say it is from the Jenova cells that were injected into Lucreica's womb that might have caused the malfunction. With this kind of advantage Hojo could do whatever he wanted with the boy."

"That explains why Lucrecia was band from seeing her son. If she were to raise him she would tell him everything out of guilt and love once he became of age. What a complicated tragedy," says Larissa.

"Yes it is," confirms Vincent, taking a position by Reeves by the entrance. "What do you want to do Larissa?"

"I can still feel the pulse of her presence somewhere, yet it's not here. Where in this world could her head be?"

Nanaki slips by them all to join Larissa at the foot of Jenova and suggests, "Maybe her head has relocated to the Northern Crater. That is where she landed in the first place to this planet. If we know Sephiroth well enough he might have taken her there."

"Nanaki your brilliant! That's a perfect logical explanation where her head would be. Well before I set off to that place I am going to take the honor of killing this Jenova, would anyone like to join me?"

Everyone stepped forward to surround this Jenova and they all pulled out their weapons to aim at her heart. On the count of three Avalanche fired their weapons on Jenova and this one died instantly. When she died the power in that room completely shut down and left them in total darkness. Larissa used her Heavenly Tear to light the way out of Jenova's room back to the main chamber of the Nibelheim Crater.

Larissa stopped abruptly to look at the pods and noticed that everything in the crater was shutting down. It seems Jenova was the source of energy that ran the whole place; now with it gone the crater would be engulfed into darkness.

"What's happening here?" asks Tifa.

"Since Jenova is dead all the power is dieing too. We will be ok, but we have to do something about the chemicals below this crater," says Larissa as she peers down below to look at the turquoise liquid.

"Those are not chemicals Larissa," says Nanaki, "it is the Lifestream." It seems that in order to keep Jenova intact they had to use its power. This poor world, look how much it has suffered."

"Lifestream? So this is what has kept me alive. I might have to take some of the Lifestream with us because my human body will not hold up in that casket. It will rot away and it's not time for that yet. Shelke do you know of a way to harvest it, just enough to preserve my body," says Larissa.

Shelke went to the edge of the room to glance down at what she was dealing with. When she looked up she replied to Larissa, "We could use a chemical vacuum that is back at the Midgar Lab. It can hold a good amount of anything for anyone's use."

"That sounds great, where is it in the Midgar Lab? I can materialize it to us if you know the exact location."

"Sure Larissa it is in the very far back room where Nanaki and I always use the computer to do research. Do you remember that room?"

"Yes how could I forget. Where in the room is this chemical vacuum?"

"Ok picture the computer and the desk that the keyboard sits on. Underneath the desk is the vacuum that will do this for you. Can you see it?"

"Perfectly hold on."

Larissa stretches her right hand out again and calls upon the machine she needs to use. In a matter of minutes the vacuum appeared in front of her ready for action. "Is this it Shelke?" she asked when she motioned for Shelke to come take a closer look at the equipment.

"Yes Larissa, that was amazing! Ok leave the rest to me; I will get the right amount for what you need."

Shelke took hold of the vacuum nozzle and placed it over the edge of the main chamber, pointing it down to absorb the Lifestream. All she had to do was turn the switch on and it roared to life. It sounded like a motorcycle engine once you turned the ignition on. Larissa decided to take a seat on the steel floor to wait for the Lifestream to fill the vacuum bag up. Vincent sat to the right of her and Cloud took the left while everyone else waited patiently.

"You said before Larissa that you would be setting off to the Northern Crater, did you think we would leave you to do that on your own?"

Larissa turns to Cloud and replies, "I think I have taken up enough time from you guys. I know I want us to work together but wouldn't you all like to rest first? The only problem is I cannot wait; I must weaken him as much as I can. Maybe this might make it better; I need to go back to Midgar to change into something else. A dress like this will surely get in the way."

Cloud studied her profile and had forgotten that Larissa was still wearing the white satin gown Tseng had given to her to wear at the Christmas party. Laughing he says, "Yeah you do have a point. I still want to say that we are going with you to the Northern Crater and there is nothing you can say that will change our minds."

"Cloud is completely right," says Vincent, "there is nothing you can say that will keep us from going. We are with you all the way like I promised you we would."

Cloud raised his eyebrows at Vincent when he said this, but thought little of it. That promise was as solid as ever and they were going to live up to it. Shelke finished the task in no time at all when she shut down the vacuum to stop any additional liquid from coming in. "Larissa I am all done now. Shall we get going?"

"Wait a minute Shelke. Nanaki what do you think we should do with the rest of the Lifestream in this crater? I hate to leave it here unattended," says Larissa.

Nanaki peered down at the tainted liquid and began to think. Larissa also got up at this time to join Nanaki at the edge of the platform. When she looked at the Lifestream she could hear faint voices calling out to them. She crouched down closer to the edge so she could hear the voices better. This is what they said:

"Please help us!"

"I want to be part of the Planet, why am I here?"

"Send us back to the Planet!"

"Yeah send us back!"

Larissa backed away from the edge feeling dizzy and light headed. Cloud came forward and caught her in his arms before she fell backwards. "Nanaki the Lifestream, it wants to return back to the Planet. Their cries are so overwhelming that there has to be a way to grant them their wish. What do you think?"

"Really, well that would make sense. And yet how are we going to do that without destroying the crater itself? Does anyone have an idea?"

Reeves came to investigate and suggested that they pull one of the pipes out that led to the outside, so the Lifestream could sink into the earth. Agreeing with the plan, Larissa floated down to one of the main pipes and sawed away at the titanium steel with her sword. It gave way very easily at her command to let the Lifestream flow out to the earth where it belonged. After the hole was done Larissa could hear the screams of joy from the Lifestream thanking her for letting them go free.

"I think we are done here everyone. Off to Midgar we go," says Larissa to the rest of the group. They all filed behind her to Cid's airship parked out front of Nibelhiem to return home. On the ride back Cloud continued to glance at Larissa talking to Vincent in one of the window seats in Cid's remodeled airship. He wished he could take part in their conversation, but something inside was telling him that he better not. Besides all Vincent and Larissa were talking about was what to do next in the Northern Crater. Hopefully finding Jenova's head will not be too difficult.

Landing in good old Midgar after a few minutes, Larissa quickly raced toward 7th Heaven to try and find her old outfit she wore before the Christmas party. She ran in with all haste to find a package on the countertop addressed to her. The note on the front said:

Dear Larissa,

I have enclosed in this box a new outfit for you to wear. I found it among other items that used to belong to Hojo long ago that pertained to you. Hopefully this outfit will help you in your fight. Always know that I will be by your side with the rest of the Turk force. Rufus is getting a little ahead of himself since the incident at the Shinra ballroom. Take care of yourself, I have a feeling we will be meeting each other very soon.

With Sincere Love for a Friend, Tseng.

Larissa revealed a cunning smile as she ripped open the package to find a white robe similar to what Sephiroth wore except this one was more elegant than his. Embroidered with silver threads, it fit Larissa perfectly and was easier to maneuver around in combat than ever before. Feeling a new source of power within her she glowed radiantly in Tifa's diner and delivery service. The gang ran after her to find that she was ready for any kind of action.

"Looks like Tseng took care of me once again. I know you guys just got home from a little journey, but I must go to the Northern Crater. Not all of you can go with me I am afraid," says Larissa.

"Ok now that is hard to believe," says Yuffie, "you needed us to save you and then it's off to someplace else that is even more dangerous than before."

"We are going with you on this one Larissa and that's that," says Cid stubbornly.

"Well if you feel that strongly on tagging along with me, then prepare to die an early death," says Larissa coolly.

"What an awful thing to say Larissa! We were only trying to help you like always, why do you continue to push us away now?" asks Tifa.

"If you were intelligent enough to use your head Tifa, you would know that the Northern Crater is like a nuclear bomb if not handled carefully. Once someone makes a wrong move everyone will die except Vincent and me because we are supernatural. We have time to flee before the impact takes us under. You will also know that is why Shelke and Nanaki have not objected yet. How else do you think Shinra is able to survive while dissecting Jenova cells for their own use? It appears to me that all of you should stay here while I take a short trip over to the Northern Crater. Your help is very handy and I would hate to eliminate it so early in this quest. Now does anyone else want to go?"

"I will go with you Larissa," volunteers Vincent. "You said so yourself that I would be able to survive the impact. Let's get going."

Cloud smiled and said, "That would be best and it reassures me that you will be ok. Good luck to the both of you. Should we expect you guys back by sundown?"

"Yes that should do it. Oh and Shelke, Nanaki, do not worry about my body unless you want to set it up yourself. I will be back in a little bit to help you both if you will wait."

"Shelke and I would be glad to set up everything in that back room. Go off and take care of what you have to do for the world, we will be fine. Right Shelke?" says Nanaki.

Shelke showed off her shy smile as she shook her head yes to get started on the mini project ahead of them. Larissa gave a little smile back and asked Vincent, "Are you ready?"

"You know I am," he replies back. They both walked out of the door to the main drag right outside of the diner and Larissa said telepathically, _"Alright Vincent, get ready to fly." _

"_You got it Larissa."_

Out in front of everyone Vincent began to transform into Chaos, which scared most of the townspeople. His body shook violently as his skin color started to change into a dark crimson red. The once familiar red eyes began to turn into glowing yellow ones as the process continued. When his transformation was complete he looked like a deranged vampire from the medieval time period. Larissa could not help but scrutinize everything about Chaos and its existence. It blew her away that Lucrecia made such a beast inside one of the Shinra laboratories.

"So this is Chaos, I have to say it is quite impressive to behold in person," says Larissa in awe. Smiling he waits for Larissa to transform into her being. Raising her right hand up, she places it over the Heavenly Tear and begins to expand her wing out of her back. But in the process something was changing. Her wing came out normally in full length, yet her fingernails began to grow longer like claws. Her eyes turned into a turquoise color like Sephiroth's that made the similarities between them more apparent. Even Larissa's voice changed into a slight deeper tone than before.

"What is causing these differences in me? It feels powerful," says Larissa strangely while looking over her body to see the changes more clearly.

Cloud stepped out and was shocked to see that Larissa did resemble Sephiroth in so many ways that it irked him to even look at her properly. The rest of the gang felt the same when they all arrived outside. Even Tifa and Yuffie wanted to scream out loud at the sight.

"Oh well we are going now. Be save while we are gone," says Larissa as she motioned for Vincent to take flight with her.

In one motion Larissa and Vincent flew into the air off to the north for the Northern Crater. Cloud kept his eye on them until they vanished into the full morning sky. "You think those two will be ok out there by themselves?" asks a concerned Cid.

"I have full faith in them to succeed. Lets get Larissa's body set up before they come back," says Cloud while looking at Shelke and Nanaki. Nanaki agreed as Shelke marched off to Cid's airship to retrieve the pearl white casket from the basement. Cloud went with them along with Cid to let them on board. Barett decided to drive the truck out there so they could load the body up and cover it with a blanket. The process did not take very long, but they still felt nervous because Reno or Rude could show up at anytime to investigate.

Cloud along with Shelke, Nanaki, and Cid all loaded into the truck to head to the Midgar Laboratory to create a tank for Larissa's body to inhabit.

In the bright morning sky over Nibelheim now, Vincent and Larissa were making excellent timing on their arrival to the Northern Crater. She noticed at once that a hazy lavender halo of fog had developed, but the reason for it was unknown to her until she scanned the edges of the crater with her keen vision. Because she killed her Jenova it seems that his Jenova was having a negative reaction, which could only mean she was weakening.

"Looks like we will not have our hands that full on this mission, what do you think Vincent?"

Vincent peered at the crater's condition and felt that they would have their hands plenty full by the way it was reacting. Swooping closer to the crater's edge Larissa brushed her feet against the murk purple rock and felt the soles of her feet sizzle as if they were on a hot grill. Vincent rushes to her side to make sure nothing has happened to her as he looks at the crater to see what they were about to face. Rising higher in the air, he looked inside the crater to see what Jenova's condition was like.

Deep within the shadows Vincent could see the bare outline of Jenova's head sitting on top of this meteor that was letting off the lavender chemicals. The fumes stung his eyes as he came back to tell Larissa what he saw. He related the details to her that led her to sigh in boredom.

"Great, so Jenova is surrounded with this acidic chemical that can amputate our body piece by piece if we touch it. This is really becoming tiresome and annoying," says Larissa as she flies off to examine Jenova herself.

"Well do you have any idea how we can get down there in one piece? I am sure you have an idea up your sleeve somewhere," says Vincent with a small smile.

"As a matter of fact I do have an idea. I have a barrier that will serve as a shield against this putrid atmosphere. Are you ready to begin Vincent?"

"Lead the way Larissa," responses Vincent while he pulls out his Death Penalty from its holster on his right hip, loads the ammunition he wants to use, and sets everything to the right range he needs to have a steady aim. Larissa waved her hand in front of Vincent to create the crystal barrier to protect him from any harm. She did the same thing for herself and together they dived down the crater entrance to eliminate the enemy of the Planet.

More of the crater disintegrated as the chemicals continued to eat away at the molten rock. Finally reaching the bottom of the Northern Crater, Vincent and Larissa found Jenova's head perched securely in the center of the bleeding meteor. The fumes only grew worse as they came closer to her. Thinking that this was going to be another easy victory, Larissa draws out her sword to strike down on Jenova with a deadly blow.

But when Larissa was mid way down from killing Jenova for good a maroon hand broke through the meteor and caught her completely off guard. Rising out of the meteor to go along with the first hand came two more arms on the right and three full grown ones on the left that moved expertly. The hand that came out wrapped around Larissa's neck to strangle her in mid air. Vincent backed away from the new alien life form, so it could develop properly before firing at the hand that had Larissa immobilized.

Struggling for air, Larissa began to charge up her body to burn Jenova's diseased flesh with little success. It appears that Jenova is immune to fire and other magical statuses. Vincent did not waste any time when Jenova came out in her true full form. He immediately aimed for the top right hand that had Larissa and fired. It hit the spot as Jenova yelled in pain from the bullet, letting Larissa go in the process.

"_Traitor, how dare you show your face here when it was you who abandoned me, your own mother. You are not one of my children that I will save Larissa," _says the mutant version of Jenova.

"Just as it should be Jenova. And let me tell you something, I am not one of your children. I do not need saving, especially from an alien. You are the only one left of your being Jenova, be honored that I took time out of my busy schedule to settle the score. Now prepare to fight," says Larissa courageously.

Vincent took to the skies, so he could take care of Jenova's arms while Larissa handled her heart and mind. The atmosphere was bad enough to cause temporary blindness for Larissa as she tried to pierce Jenova's dieing heart from behind. And to top it off her arms rejuvenated after Vincent's every shot. Jenova continued to laugh hysterically at Larissa for every missed attack she made on her intended goal. Even Vincent decided to aim for Jenova's head to help Larissa out, but his bullets were met by a barrier of her own.

"_Ha Ha Larissa, have you not learned yet? I am invincible! No one can defeat me, this planet will be mine,"_ says Jenova while sending volleys of acid to cause serious injures to both of them.

"_We are getting no where Vincent. Fly out of the crater, I have a spell that should wipe her out. The impact is going to be great, so I want you to wait outside for me. You will do that for me won't you?" _asks Larissa telepathically to Vincent.

"_You do have a point Larissa and fine I will be outside, but only on the outer edges of the crater. I will be watching."_

Feeling Vincent departing for the sky, Larissa turns to face Jenova with an evil smirk that would cause anyone to tremble. "Well Jenova do you have any last words before you die?"

"_You still don't get it do you? I am going to live on to have what I want with my one and only son Sephiroth. And there is nothing you can do about it."_

Chuckling Larissa replies, "That is what you think Jenova."

Rising up to be level with Jenova, Larissa presses both of her hands together in a pray position and recites an ancient spell called Ulitma. Jenova remained clueless to Larissa's actions and was about to slam her against one of the crater walls when something unexpected happened. As the spell progressed, a pure white base started to form at the root of Jenova's being. The white base continued to expand to engulf Jenova along with her unlimited power. Larissa's turquoise eyes grew wide when the spell began to grow, causing white electric currents to surround her body as she finished the ritual.

"Ultima," Larissa yelled when she released the spell from both of her hands onto Jenova. The traditional Ulitma casting will and shall be the same as any other. It is one of the most powerful types of white magic that engulfs an enemy in a huge explosive white bubble. Nothing seems to ever survive the attack or live very long after the blow.

"_What is this?! No, I am not supposed to die! My son will avenge me. AHHHHHH!!!" _

Those were Jenova's last dieing words as Ultima blasted the crater to tiny raining pieces into the ocean. It also widened the hole where Jenova landed over 2,000 years ago. Vincent was a few feet away when he felt a mini earthquake traveling up the crater to meet him. The blast did cause a minor impact on the earth that everyone could feel underneath their feet.

Vincent could not believe the amount of energy Larissa was using, but it worked beautifully. Flying through the crater, he went in search of her since the lavender fog was disappearing. He found Larissa still suspended in mid air where she cast the spell with purple mucus all over her from Jenova's explosion.

"Larissa is everything ok? We or well you defeated Jenova; she is gone from this earth forever. Why are you not happy about that?" asks Vincent in a gruff tone.

Larissa just stood there in silence as she heard Sephiroth screaming inside her head.

"_Mother… Mother…What is this tingling sensation I feel throughout my body? Have you come to resurrect me from the dead? Mother! Why don't you answer me?" _

"Because Sephiroth she is dead. I killed Jenova; she no longer exists on this planet. The tingling sensation you feel is her cells dieing inside your bloodstream. You are not coming back Sephiroth, you are slowly fading away," says Larissa in a trance-like state while Vincent carries her out of the Northern Crater to be free of all the fumes.

Suddenly Sephiroth howls,_ "What?! Larissa you have killed Mother, the only one I loved more than anyone in this miserable world and who dearly loved me. I will kill you Larissa! Mark my words I will murder you for the hope you have robbed me of. This pain…ugh." _

From wherever he was Larissa continued to hear him scream bloody murder as his cells too died away in acid pools of black. When Vincent made it to the surface, he decided to take Larissa off to one of the islands close by so she could regain control. He even used a little spell of his own that caused pure water to pour down her slender body to clean all of the purple particles.

"There, does that feel any better?" asks Vincent while he took a cloth out of his black chained pants to sanitize Larissa more thoroughly. "Yes it does, thank you Vincent. I am happy about Jenova's death, but I am just waiting for the consequences. There seems to always be a price I must pay in order to enjoy anything out of this life of mine. I know you would be familiar with that feeling."

Vincent nodded his head in understanding, he definitely could relate to her there. "Well whatever happens we are here to help, especially Cloud and I. You know how dedicated we are to you."

"Yeah that is what I am afraid of. We should not have gone this far on our emotions; it will only hurt us both in the near future. Cloud's is drawing near isn't it?"

"You can sense it too? Yeah it is coming soon, but I just don't know when."

"Do you know what kind of emotion it will be?"

"You know as well as I do that it will be a form of love. I think it will be the deepest love of all, even deeper than mine for you. Cloud is trying to find a place in this world that Tifa is not fulfilling, which is something the gang was hoping for. Tifa and Cloud being together I mean. He just doesn't see Tifa in that way anymore, not since they were kids."

"That is so sad, I feel kind of bad for Tifa. But tell me what kind of love is yours?"

"Mine is a loving friendship for you Larissa. We share so much in common that a loving relationship would not be able to cover it all. I know we will be together no matter what the circumstances are. Even if one of us dies, we will still feel each other's presence somewhere in space."

"You could not have said it any better Vincent. I feel the same way."

They continued to sit there on that island to relax from the stressful battle that seemed endless. Letting her body slacken from a hard days work, Larissa started to feel something that was unusual. She moved her hand up her arm and noticed that bruises were forming on her porcelain skin.

"What is that Larissa?!" asks Vincent in alarm.

"I knew there was a consequence for this. It is a withdrawal from Jenova as Sephiroth would put it. A lovely gift he gave to me as punishment. We better get back to Midgar before something happens out here in the middle of nowhere," says Larissa casually.

Vincent did not waste anytime taking Larissa back home. He even volunteered to carry her back, but she nicely refused him until he would not take no for an answer. They were set on going back to Midgar like Larissa wanted to when Vincent said to her, "We are not going back to Midgar just yet Larissa. Instead we are going to Kalm for a little while."


	21. When Love Takes Its Toll

Larissa did not ask any questions to Vincent's request to go to Kalm; she knew he would explain once they got there. His speed was excellent when they arrived on the outskirts of the town. Vincent wanted to change back before carrying Larissa in, so as to not alarm the villagers. He diligently crouched down to put Larissa on the ground before warping back to his former self. The transformation did not take very long at all to her surprise when she looked up to see those familiar crimson eyes staring down at her.

Larissa knew she was not that weak and picked herself off of the moist ground to transform back to her former self too. When she did, Vincent noticed that her hands did not look normal. He started to see the nerves and muscles that made up her being. Looking even closer he also noticed that her skin was disappearing like someone had sucked the color dry, only to leave a transparent film on the structure to make sure it stayed intact. Larissa sensed his staring and looked at her own hands to see what the problem was.

When she looked to see her muscles instead of her skin, she did not panic like a normal human being would. She just observed them like the change was supposed to happen. Vincent could not hold back his curiosity any longer and asked her, "Larissa what is happening to you? Where is your skin?!"

"It seems I am not longer privileged to have my skin anymore. The withdrawal is taking it away along with other material. My emotions seem to be fading away into one form of indifference. I am afraid it will continue to spread and who knows what will follow after that, but that does not mean I will not be able to function. As I told you before there is always a price to be paid for something like this and mine happens to be another big one."

Vincent just stood there in a deadly silence as he scanned Larissa over more carefully. "There has to be something we can use to cover it up, what do you think?"

"True it will have to be covered up for a little while. What is Kalm's supplies like, it is a good selection?"

"Leave everything to me Larissa. I know the perfect products that will to the trick. I am glad I brought you to Kalm first. If we went back to Midgar the Turks would be all over you besides Rufus. And you know the whole gang would be there too. Now how am I going to get you to my apartment?"

"You sure are right about that Vincent. This will delay them a little bit, but they will confront me sooner or later. I can teleport us there if you tell me the location."

Vincent took hold of Larissa's hand for the first time and found it colder than ice. He never did shiver though like a regular person, yet there was nothing regular about this pair. Teleporting to the middle of Vincent's one bed and bath apartment above the local grocery store, Larissa scanned the room to see that it was really clean and inviting. The front door was behind them as she saw that the huge plush full sized bed placed straight against the wall to the right of the door. The head board was made of black metal with a dark red comforter that matched him perfectly. On the left wall was a dark cherry wood desk with a nice flat screen TV hanging above it, complete with cable. Beside the bed was a black lamp that shown brightly when the light was turned on. By the only window in the room was a nice dark leather couch for guests or anyone that should visit him. Instead of a form of drapery for the window he decided to use thick wooden blinds to block out the world from invading his personal space.

In the next room was the single bathroom he had that glowed brightly when the lights were on. Surprisingly it was done in a warm shade of gold for the floor and bath tiles while the appliances were in white. That was all the apartment had besides his mini closet he owns by the left of his end table by his bed.

"I love your place Vincent," says Larissa, "it makes me feel so at home in this world."

"Yeah that is why I like it too," he says back to her as he guides Larissa to sit on his bed while he takes the couch, so they would be facing each other to talk.

"Larissa about your skin, I know a place where I can order some gloves for you to wear and possible a face mask to hide the muscles that might appear. Then I can call the doctors to see what they can do for you about your condition. There has to be something they can give you for this."

"The supplies sound great Vincent, but there will be no doctors. They will be unable to treat me because I am definitely an unusual case. They will want to run tests on me to figure out what medication will work the best. It is too risky; all I need is some kind of pain killer that can be picked up at a local drugstore."

"Fine, but at least tell me you will sleep here for a while before we go back to Midgar."

"Ok I will for a little while to satisfy your mind."

"Thank you, now I am going to the store to get what you need. I think it is obvious that I want you to stay here. Will you do that for me?"

"Yes Vincent I will be here waiting for you."

Vincent gave away a smile before leaving the apartment with Larissa still sitting on his comfy bed. She watched his slender body gracefully leave the room and lock the door behind him on his way out. Looking at the bedside table she could not resist the temptation to look through the leather bound book resting there ready to be opened. Larissa gingerly picked it up and flipped to the first page. Inside she found drawings of people and at first she did not recognize them until she read the citation at the bottom of each page.

Several of the drawings were of Avalanche and the children back in Midgar and some in Edge. There were even pictures of Lucrecia from his memory that he drew for many pages. After those few pages she started to see drawings of a beautiful girl she did not recognize. Her features became more pronounced as Larissa flipped through them, and saw that a young man she did not know either was standing by her in a Turk looking outfit. He was not Tseng by the look of it. When she came to the last page of the man and woman together, she saw that they were holding each other in a loving embrace. When she looked at the title at the top it read:

_Your Light Has Filled The Hole In My Heart, Now I Can Breath_

Larissa's eyes continued to stare at the picture before her and realized that the picture was of Vincent and her when they were normal. She remembered him saying that he was a Turk when he was young before he was shot by Hojo for trying to stop Lucrecia. When she placed her slender hand on the drawing the door opened to accept Vincent back into his apartment. His eyes automatically found Larissa sitting on his bed still, but with his sketch book in her hands.

"I see you have found my drawings. Tell me do you like them?"

Larissa remained transfixed by the drawing Vincent made of both of them together and happy, so happy. "Where did you learn to draw like this Vincent? It is remarkable."

"I picked it up in my spare time when I was not working for Tifa or hanging out with Cloud and the others. You can say it is a kind of therapy I do to keep my mind focused."

"It is excellent, are these two people us right here Vincent? They look too normal and happy to be real."

Vincent set the supplies on his black leather couch by the door and took a seat next to Larissa on his crimson bed. Looking over her shoulder he says to Larissa, "Yes that is us. I remember everything about myself when I was 27, and when I saw your body in Cloud's arms I knew exactly what to draw. The eyes might not be exactly right but I like to see them that way, soft and happy. Just like you once were and still are."

Larissa gazed at the drawing a little longer before closing the book to look at Vincent with dim gold eyes. Then she placed the book back on the dark cherry wood end table and hugged him for the very first time. His instant reaction was to accept the invitation and to bury Larissa deeper in his arms.

"Hmm, for some reason I do not feel as happy as I am drawn in your picture Vincent. In fact I really do not feel anything at all," Larissa says disappointedly.

Vincent buried her even further into his broad chest to see if he could feel the rhythm of her heart beat against his. Frightened he felt nothing at all except a normal pulse, all of her emotions and senses seemed to be drained from her body. "Maybe it is because you are too tired from our journey to feel anything. I think a good rest will replenish some of the senses you have lost. Come and lay on the bed for a while, we are in no hurry to go back to Midgar just yet. Oh and I bought a pair of white leather gloves that I think you will enjoy. The face mask is another story I am afraid."

"Thank you Vincent and do not worry about the face mask. I think the Heavenly Tear will keep this unknown disease away from my upper body. It is just the lower half of me that is changing."

Releasing Larissa from his tight embrace, he went over to the brown paper bag with the Kalm grocer's logo on it and produced a sleek pair of white gloves for Larissa to try on later. Vincent laid her down on the right side of the bed closet to the door while he went to pull out a red blanket to drape over Larissa as she slept. The gloves he had in his hand before he retrieved the blanket from his closet were placed on the cherry wood desk underneath his flat screen TV.

Larissa laid down gently as Vincent pulled the blanket over her hands for her to sleep comfortably. When her light gold eyes began to close Vincent came to lay beside her for protection as well as for the company. Before going off to sleep himself like Larissa requested earlier, he turned off the lamp beside his bed and put his right arm over Larissa to make sure she was still there. If anything were to happen he would feel it. In this position they both drifted off to sleep. What awaited Larissa in her dream world would catch her completely off guard by far.

Returning to Midgar, Cloud was with Nanaki and Shelke to put Larissa's human body up for safe keeping. In the back room of the Midgar Laboratory Shelke prepared the tank by Nanaki's instructions so the Lifestream would not leak out or cause any other problems.

The tank was displayed against that one blank wall beside the computer desk Shelke and Nanaki always used whenever they came to do research. Shelke thought it would be a great spot to put it so they could monitor it from time to time. All the mechanical work did not take very long once Shelke had her mind set on what she needed to do. It only took a few hours before she had the tank up and running with the fans turning on at the bottom of the built in air conditioner.

"Ok Red I think we are ready to pour in the Lifestream into the tank. What do you think?" asks Shelke.

"That will do just fine Shelke, you did a wonderful job. But before we do that we need to tie Larissa's body inside the tank; otherwise our labor will be useless. Cloud will you do the honors?"

Cloud nodded his head without any hesitation as he pulled out the cold white casket where Larissa's body was resting. Opening the coffin once more he witnessed her porcelain, slender body relaxed and beautiful in the eerie fluorescent lighting of the room. Cloud went to draw the cables out of the wall of the tank to ready them for use in a few minutes. Lifting her out of the casket a second time, he carried the body over to the cables and started to attach the first titanium cuff to her feet before he did her arms and neck.

Once all of the latches clicked into place, Cloud stepped back to look at Larissa one last time before Shelke poured the Lifestream inside to fill the empty space. He stepped out of the tank and locked the leaded glass door and waited for Shelke to do the rest. She came back in the room with the vacuum cleaner that took the Lifestream from the Nibelhiem Crater. Shelke placed her tiny hand underneath the filter of the vacuum and pulled the bag out that swished of the neon liquid.

Next she placed a ladder against the glass of the tank so she could reach the top since she was too short to reach the top by herself. When she reached the top of the tank, Shelke opened the black lid that covered the upper part of the human container. As the lid mechanically opened up all the way she poured the Lifestream in slowly so as to not harm the specimen in any way. The Lifestream filled the tank to full capacity, giving Larissa's body a floating affect when someone came to look at her. Cloud remembers this feeling very well.

"It seems the tests are going well. I think she will be just fine, but just to make sure I think we should print out a few copies to keep on file. Shelke will you help me with this?" asks Nanaki as he looks straight at her from below while she was still on the ladder.

"I would be happy to Nanaki. Cloud you do not mind watching Larissa for us do you?"

"Not at all Shelke, everything will be fine," says Cloud while watching them walk out the door and down the long spiraling hallway.

After they had left the room, Cloud turned to gaze at Larissa with a longing that had grown inside his heart for some time. Walking over to the tank he placed both of his hands against the glass where her hands were hanging down by her sides. Then he leaned forward and pressed his forehead on the glass's surface to see if he could feel any kind of pulse. When he did not feel anything Cloud frowned. He wished the sound of her heart would pound to let him know she still existed somewhere. Thinking that closing his clear bright eyes might help; Cloud did just that and was suddenly placed in this white room.

Alarmed at where he ended up, he scanned his surroundings and found that he was in a blank pure white room with a black dot in the distance. Not knowing what else to do, Cloud started to walk toward the black dot to see what it truly was. He arrived at his destination with little effort to find that the black dot was Larissa's body entombed in this clear white crystal to keep intruders out. Cloud reached out to touch the crystal, but was instantly shocked by the touch. I guess there was a barrier around it too. It also reminded him of Lucrecia's tomb that Vincent always likes to visit. Now he knew how if felt to have a loved one sealed off from you without being able to touch them.

"_Larissa, how did it come to this?" You are right here, yet I cannot touch the warmth of your flesh I have been longing to feel. Nor can I hear your laughter or any other emotion you have that drives me. I have to admit I have never felt this way since Aeris died. I thought I would never discover this longing emotion ever again no matter how hard I tried. I know you think I am crazy or maybe a fool for this kind of thing, but I cannot control what I feel and I do not want to. _

_You are probably thinking, "How can you feel this way when you barely know me?" Well Larissa it is because when I first held you in my arms I knew what you were like just by the touch of your frozen skin against mine. I knew that you were a warm loving person with a heart full of hope. I cannot believe what Shinra has done to you, a woman full of promises and desires. _

_After all we have been through I have discovered something else. Larissa I love you, I honestly love you with all of my being and it will never change. You once told me my heart was weak because of my past that continued to haunt me from time to time. But now it has grown strong, all because I was thinking of you and how we will be happy when this nightmare reaches its end. _

_Oh Larissa I wish you could talk to me, so you could tell me how you feel. At least open your eyes. I want to see the clear gray color that calms me every time I go to bed at night." _

When Cloud looked at her droopy head he realized that Larissa was not going to wake up.

"_Larissa, please wake up!! I beg you; I want to see your eyes. I want to know if you are still there. I don't think I can handle another death of a loved one. Whatever happens, do not leave me! That is all I ask, please do not leave me." _

Cloud looked at Larissa and saw that her head was coming up, but her eyes did not open. That is all she did while he continued to encourage her to open them. He gave one last shout before giving up for the day.

"_Larissa, wake up!!" _

Her eyes opened slightly, but before Cloud could look at them he was thrown back into the laboratory room where her body was being stored. A jolt of energy flowed back through his veins that caused him to land on the floor. When he did he noticed that he was crying and not just a little bit either. Cloud was practically crying a light rain of tears that landed on his clothes before him. He felt so heart broken.

Nanaki was the first one to return to the room to find Cloud on the floor in this state of heart ache. Before asking questions Nanaki looked at Larissa and then looked at where Cloud fell on the floor in a mess. It came to him in a second just by looking at the scene before him.

"Cloud, are you in love with Larissa?" Nanaki asks with the fatal answer already in his mind.

Cloud wipes the tears away fiercely and says in a whisper, "Yes I do Red. I really do."

Nanaki walked over to him and gave a friendly rub against his back to show that he understood. Cloud ruffled his ear to show that he appreciated it and got to his feet to wait for Shelke and the test results of Larissa's condition.

While this was going on, Larissa saw every bit of it in a dream like state. She immediately bolted awake with a start that made Vincent wake up instantly to see what was going on. Breathing heavily she told Vincent, "Cloud confessed."

Vincent perked up at this statement and knew exactly what it meant. He was expecting it to happen any day now, especially since they found her human body. "How bad was it?" Vincent asks with his piercing crimson eyes not leaving her site.

"Worse than I expected. What am I going to do with him or you?" she says in exasperation as her breath eased into a steady pace.

"Well you know I am already taken care of and as for Cloud you do not have to do anything if you do not want to. Remember he does not know that you heard everything he said. As far as I am concerned you could leave it the way it is unless it is bothering you severely. There must be a part of it that sticks on your mind the most, what is it?"

Thinking, Larissa heard the words that echoed in her mind and said to Vincent, "The part of his words that scare me is when he tells me not to leave him. If I do he will crumble for sure and that he wants me to wake up. It's not the love that I am worried about; it is the consequences that will come if it is not fulfilled. I think he has gone off the deep end on this one. At least I know you will be ok if anything should happen, right?"

"I will survive if that is what you are implying, but in a poor condition no doubt. Hopefully it will clear over time."

"What is it that draws you toward me so? I cannot be that appealing no matter what state of being I might be in at the time. I am not good for either one of you."

"You know the old saying of love works in mysterious ways, so I think it applies here in full force. I wish I could give you a more definite answer Larissa."

"That's ok Vincent; this is why I love to talk to you. Everything seems to make sense after we talk and you are right about love. As for Cloud I am not going to do anything because it will undoubtedly make the situation more complicated. It will just be between us."

"I think that is for the best Larissa," says Vincent while lightly squeezing her hand that felt like cold dry ice from a freezer. When Larissa gave a squeeze back, Vincent's cell phone started to vibrate in his black jeans. He took it out with accelerating speed and recognized the number as Tifa's from 7th Heaven. Still holding Larissa's hand, he flips his cell open and said in a deep voice, "Hey Tifa, what's going on?"

Larissa perked up from hearing the name and decided to sit up for this call. On the other side of the receiver Tifa says, "Hey Vincent, where are you guys? I had thought you two would be back by now."

"We had to make a stop at my apartment to get a few supplies and check on things here in Kalm. Everything is ok, don't worry."

"Oh well since you and Larissa were having such a relaxing time the Turks have been by here several times looking for her. It seems urgent and they won't leave me alone about it. I told them I really didn't know where you guys were, but now that I do I can tell them."

Vincent gave Larissa an alert look that made her ask Vincent to put the cell on speaker phone so she could talk to Tifa too.

"Tifa, I am going to put you on speaker so Larissa can talk to you as well. Hold on."

Vincent reached over to the draw in his end table and pulled out speakers to plug the phone in so they could talk to Tifa easily.

"Ok Tifa you are on speaker now," says Vincent.

"Oh good hey Larissa," Tifa says back in a crystal clear voice.

"Well Larissa, Tifa was saying a few seconds ago that the Turks were looking for you non-stop and they want to know what you have been doing apparently."

"Whatever you do Tifa do not tell them where we are. I will deal with them when we arrive tonight. Just stall on them a little longer," says Larissa flatly.

"You are kidding right? How am I supposed to stall them any longer? They have been coming by here every 10 minutes to see if you have come back yet. They looked pretty anxious about something."

"Did they tell you anything at all?" asks Larissa.

"No they just told me to phone them whenever you arrived. I think Tseng is going to loose his head if he does not talk to you real soon. Why can't I tell him where you are?"

"I do not want him to raid Vincent's apartment. They might think we have something to hide. They need to leave this untainted place alone."

A deep sigh could be heard from the other side of the phone when Tifa replies, "Ok fine Larissa, but you definitely owe me."

"Sure Tifa, whatever. As long as they do not know our location right now everything will go smoothly. We will be leaving in a few minutes just hang on a little bit longer."

"Ok, oh I have to go. Tseng just walked into the room and he doesn't look happy. I will see you when you get here. Bye"

The phone line went dead after that while Larissa rose from the bed to put on her new white powdery gloves Vincent had bought for her.

"Sorry Vincent, but it looks like I am needed back in Midgar. Are you coming with me?"

"You know I am Larissa," he says with a definite tone that settled the matter.

As Larissa and Vincent departed for Midgar, Tseng enters 7th Heaven for the tenth time to see if Larissa has arrived yet. Of course who would not want to miss out on the fun but Reno, Rude, and Elena following close behind him into the diner. Tifa closed her cell phone as the Turk team walked in and decided to tell him the same answer she has been telling him all day. Opening her mouth and using the same civil tone, Tifa tells Tseng before he reaches the counter, "Tseng she has not come back yet from wherever she went this morning. Don't you trust me enough to call you guys when she's in?"

Tseng walks briskly to the counter to meet Tifa and responds, "No Tifa, I do not trust you at all. Where is she and who were you talking to on your cell?"

"If you must know I was talking to Vincent. He is running a few errands in Kalm and I was calling him to see if everything was alright. As for Larissa I honestly do not know where she is."

"Liar," Tseng yells, "you know exactly where she is. I can see it in your eyes. You better damn well tell me where Larissa is or suffer the consequences for secrecy."

"I cannot believe you do not trust me Tseng. I honestly have nothing to hide, I really do not know anything," Tifa says.

Reno came up behind Tseng and said, "Tseng come on man. You know Tifa would never lie to anyone and if she did it would be like a little white lie, nothing serious. Just cool your jets and sit down with the rest of us. I am sure Larissa will come through that door any minute now."

Rude had to admire his best friend at that moment. Reno could be quite stupid at times, but it took real guts to stand up to Tseng in his war path mode. Tseng shook Reno's hand off of his shoulder and completely ignored everything he just said. That was the unfortunate thing about Tseng's temper; he would not listen to anyone else except himself and selected others.

Quickly pulling out his gun from his black leather belt, Tseng pointed the barrel right at Tifa's forehead and threatened, "For the last time Tifa, where is Larissa?"

Tifa did not know what to do as she continued to look at Tseng's weapon pointed straight at her. If she did not do something soon she imagined that her blood was going to decorate her countertop. As terror took a tight hold of Tifa's nerves she was praying that someone would come through that door to save her since Reno, Rude, and Elena were too in shocked to do anything productive.


	22. Tifa's Outburst

Still in the same position inside 7th Heaven, Tifa continued to pray for someone if anyone to come and help her out of this mess. She wanted to kick the gun away, but if she did it might go off on other people around the area. It was obvious that Tseng was an excellent gunman in his Turk lifestyle so her options were running out.

As she tried to move to the right of the barrel Tseng fired a shot at the wall, causing the mirror behind her head to shatter. "You did not answer me Tifa! Where is she? Tell me right now!"

Reno came up behind him at that instant and tried to wrestle Tseng to the ground so he could take the deadly weapon out of his hand. "What is wrong with you Tseng? Have you finally lost it?! Give me the gun before someone innocent like Tifa gets hurt," Reno said over Tseng's shoulder.

Tifa had to admire his bravery for standing up to Tseng and risking his life as well come to think of it. Tseng only used one hand to shove Reno off of him once more and said coldly, "Back off Reno, this is between Tifa and me." Raising the gun again he began to shoot the glasses up on the shelf right about Tifa's head. She immediately ducked and covered while she tried to figure out what to do next. Hopefully the children would stay upstairs and not come down to see what has going on.

Out of fury Tseng shattered every glass and then disposed of the shelf as well. Everything clattered to the floor in a giant heap of crystals as she saw her own terrified expression staring back at her in all different shapes and sizes. Just then the front door to the diner flew open to let in the cool night air, which hinted that spring was on its way. Tifa did not dare look up to see who had entered, but hoped it was someone who would be able to save her from this mad man.

Since Tseng had destroyed all of the mirrors against the wall behind the counter, he could not see who was coming toward him. Reno, Rude, and Elena all thanked the heavens when they saw that it was Larissa with Vincent not long behind her.

In a cold steely voice Larissa says, "Impatience costs human lives."

Tseng froze in place. He was so stiff that he dropped his emptied gun onto the floor that clattered noisily in the dead silence of the room. At this moment Tifa lifted her head to see that the woman speaking was Larissa. She scanned the damage in distaste as she pointed to Reno and his group and said, "Leave you are not wanted here."

Reno did not need to be told twice, nor did Rude and Elena. He took Elena's hand and told Rude to call Trish to meet them over at the Café Express across the way. Once they were gone Larissa took total control of the situation. "Tseng if you can hold in your anger, I will talk to you tomorrow. If not I will make a restraining order so you can."

Tseng turned around to face Larissa and saw that she was not her normal self or as normal as she used to be. No, what replaced her was a cold, harsh person who did not care what happened next as long as it went in her favor. He could tell that Sephiroth's characteristics were showing, but for other reasons that were smarter, more dangerous.

"Why have you not talked to me Larissa, I have been waiting and waiting, yet you continue to leave me in the dark!" Tseng cried out to her.

"Call it a punishment that you will know the reason for later. Now go home and get some rest. At the crack of dawn I will meet you by Aeris's church. Is that clear?"

"But…"

"No buts Tseng. As I said before is that clear?"

"Yes Larissa."

"Good and goodnight to you."

Larissa opened the door for him and gave him a little smile before he left to reassure him that she was going to stay around for a while. He gave a smile back and went off to his apartment to catch some sleep since his brain was elsewhere. Shutting the door behind her, Larissa walked over to Tifa and lifted her off of the floor. Tifa cringed at how cold Larissa had become since the last time they touched. It made her skin want to crawl away from Larissa's gloved fingers so she would not have to feel it again.

"I know you are intelligent Tifa. Next time do not wait for someone else to save you. One day there will be no one there to help and then what? You were lucky Vincent and I came in at the right time."

Tifa looked at her wide eyed as she went to fetch the vacuum cleaner to clean up the mess Tseng made with her mirrors and good glassware. Boldly she said, "Well I would not have to be so careful if you were around. Tseng would not have caused such uproar and my diner would not be in such a mess as it is now."

"If you knew what I have just accomplished, I know your view would be different. It does not matter anyway. You all will find out what I have done in due time, but I have to wait and see what effects it will have on the community. In the meantime where is Shelke? I need to talk to her about something."

"Last time I heard from her, she went off to the Midgar Laboratory to take care of your body. She has not been back since," says Tifa dryly.

"Really, now that is interesting. I will have to thank her for doing it right away. Maybe I should go to the lab to make sure everything is ok," says Larissa.

At the mention of her name, Shelke enters the diner with Nanaki and Cloud, who has composed himself by this time. "You need to talk to me Larissa?" she asks plainly.

"Yes I do. Can we talk in the board room alone?"

"Yeah that sounds great."

Larissa followed Shelke to the board room off to the side of the diner counter and closed the doors tightly. Vincent watched after them in eager curiosity while surveying the damage Tseng had done to the back of the diner. Bullet holes like those would have to be repaired using spackle and paint. _"Something else for me to do," _he says to himself and sighs deeply as he goes outside to fetch the materials from the truck. They had used similar supplies to repair some buildings in Edge a few days ago.

Cloud looked at the mess and asked Tifa urgently, "What happened here Tifa?! Are you hurt, do you need anything?"

She smiled at the sound of Cloud's concerned voice as she picked herself off of the floor to say, "I am fine Cloud. The person who did the damage was Tseng in his angry pursuit for Larissa. I have to admit I have never seen someone go off like that in my life and when Larissa walked in, it was like the whole world froze in time. I am just glad he is gone along with Reno, Rude, and Elena. They are such a pain when they come here."

A brief smile appeared on Cloud's smooth face as he knelt down to help Tifa clean up the rest of the broken glass that remained on the floor and the counter. It melted her heart to know that he still cared for her, even though he did not tell her specifically if they were going to have a life together. Maybe tonight she would receive his answer.

In the board room, Larissa sat Shelke down right beside her and asked, "So how is everything going?"

"Everything is right on schedule; all the tests are coming back positive."

"Perfect! Shelke I have to thank you for all the help you have been besides the others. But there is still one other favor I must ask of you. It is completely optional, but will you record my memories?"

"Record your memories, like Lucrecia did with her files of Chaos?"

"That's right Shelke. Can you do it?"

"Sure Larissa, Nanaki and I have messed with the equipment before. I know exactly what to do. When do you want it to be done?"

"Right now would be great. Are you up for it Shelke?"

"Yeah, but first I need to get the memory recorder from the lab."

"No need to go that far, I have it materialized right here. I remembered where it was located in the back room. Let's start."

Larissa produced the memory recorder that was inside this shining black box that Shelke lifted with caution. Inside the box Shelke took out thin black cords with white thin suction pads at the ends. There was also a wide screen television where the memories could be seen and recorded on a mini disk.

"Ok Larissa, in order for us to get started you need to put these white pads on the temples of your head. After they are properly in place just relax your mind and let all your memories flow forward. Once the machine feels a brain wave it will automatically start recording."

"Wonderful and Shelke, make sure no one comes in to disturb us. All you have to do is watch the door from time to time. I do not mind you looking at my life if you have a desire to."

"Ok no problem Larissa. Are you ready to start?"

Larissa nodded her head to let Shelke know that her mind was ready to roll. Shelke turned on the machine and it slowly came to life to reveal Larissa's memories that Shelke had a privilege to watch.

Back in the diner's front room, Cloud and Tifa cleaned up everything while Vincent repaired the bullet holes in the wall. He put up a wet sign to let Marlene and Denzel know not to play behind the counter for a few days.

"Thanks Vincent for doing that for me," says Tifa cheerfully.

Vincent only nodded in acknowledgement of Tifa's thanks and floated out the door to return the supplies to the truck. Tifa had a feeling as he left that he was not going to come back for a while. Turning to Cloud she says, "And thanks to you too Cloud. I know it would have taken me a lot longer if you hadn't come along."

"No problem Tifa, anytime," he said happily.

Cloud was about to leave for the church when Tifa tugged on his sleeve and said, "Wait Cloud, can we talk about something? Upstairs in my room, it is very important."

Cloud follows after Tifa up the creaky stairs to her room that is always clean and organized. She invites Cloud to sit by her on the bed that is facing the front top window of the diner. From this view anyone could see Midgar clearly along with the beach and a little bit of the Wastelands. "Alright Tifa, what do you want to talk about?"

"Cloud, I want to know if you have made a decision about us yet. We talked about this right before Christmas, don't you remember?"

"_Not this again. She just won't give up will she?" _he tells himself as he tries to gather the rest of his thoughts so the pain could be bearable.

Taking a deep breath he finally states, "Tifa, I have decided to stay your friend. I have only hurt you ever since we found each other again. It is for the best and I am not doing this because I cannot commit to something or I am not ready for something like marriage. I want to continue the way we are; don't you see how well that is working for us?"

Tearfully, Tifa cries, "What is wrong with you Cloud?! Is it because of Larissa, it that what this is all about? I do not believe you are going to hold out until she goes away."

"Tifa you have to understand somehow, someway that because of Larissa I have found a new ray of light that no one else has been able to do for me. I know that sounds completely insane, but I am not talking about her mutated form. It's her human form that gives me this comfort, it's made me whole. As I told you before Tifa I am not the one who will make you happy. Please let me go."

Streams of tears leaked from Tifa's brown eyes as she ran out of the room to confront Larissa downstairs in the board room.

Inside the board room, Shelke just finished up the recording of Larissa's whole life with a disturbed feeling of what she has been through. The only memory that stood out the most to her was the one when she was human, and she was talking to this handsome man at her side. They were laughing and holding hands, kind of like husband and wife or a really close couple. _"I wonder who that used to be," _thought Shelke while she was shutting down the mini computer and packing everything up.

Tifa dashed to the huge mahogany doors and jiggled the handle to find out that it was locked from the inside. Instead of knocking on the door like a polite person would do Tifa yells out, "You ruined my life Larissa!"

Inside the board room still, Shelke saw that the screen flashed and Larissa took her hands to her head in an immediate reaction to the shout of Tifa's voice. The memory flickered onto the screen momentarily until it vanished. "Larissa open this door right now or I will kick it down!" continued Tifa from outside the feeble door. The door seemed to brace itself for the inevitable when Tifa raised her strong leg and began to pound on the door to let her in.

Bam, Bam, Bam, went the groaning door as she continued to make dents in the nice wooden finish. Larissa finally removed the white suction pads from her brain to try and refocus what was happening around her. After about five kicks the door finally swung open to let her in with full rage.

"Larissa, what have you done?! Because of you my life will never be what I want it to be. You have soiled it to be worth nothing and because of that I loathe your existence. You should have died a long time ago, so we would not have to go through this ordeal again with the likes of you. I lost everything!"

Shelke just stood there in shock at Tifa's accusations. How could she say such things when she did not have all of the facts? What worried her was how Larissa was going to take this sudden outburst of anger.

"I ruined your life?" says Larissa blankly.

"That's right," challenges Tifa.

Rising from her seat, Larissa advanced toward her so they could talk eye to eye.

"It is not my fault that he does not love you the way you want him to," Larissa says coldly. "As for you loosing everything, ha you have lost nothing!" Larissa thunders.

"Look at me Tifa; do you think I have not lost my fair share of what the world has offered me? I mean my human body is in a tank for Christ's sake! It is surviving on the Lifestream for support in a laboratory. Not only have I lost the privilege to live, I have lost the human way of doing it. Something I would die for in a second if I knew it was possible right now."

Tifa's anger fled as she looked at Larissa for the first time in a while and noticed she was in a horrible condition indeed.

"Tifa I envy your human characteristics, at least you can laugh, cry, love, hate, and all the other emotions that have left me. All I have left is bitter anger and despair to comfort me these long difficult days. And that is not even the half of it. I could give you a list of how much I have lost, so do not come in here thinking I have it made."

"I know you have had it rough, but that does not mean you use people to get what you want. I see how Cloud and Vincent bend over backwards at your every word," Tifa fires back.

"You think I want them doing that? I keep telling them to go away to do their own thing, but they keep coming back. It was me Tifa that told Cloud to stay with you along with Vincent. It seems he does not want to listen to the practical part of his life. I do not want them involved in anything, yet they are really persistent men so why hold them back? Besides I have to keep both sides balanced."

"What do you mean by both sides?"

"Oh come on Tifa, do not tell me you do not know. Avalanche and the Turks of course, who else would it be? But it seems I have made a mistake in letting Tseng out of the circle too long. His anger and jealously is getting the best of him. In any case it will all smooth over by tomorrow."

"Well I am tired of covering for you whenever you step out without telling anyone. I should not have to risk my life for someone like you," Tifa raves.

"Who asked you to do it all the time? I only told you to do it this once and I thought you were stronger, but I guess I overestimated your being."

"What, I am a strong being Larissa!"

"Not where I am standing. You could not survive my life even if you tried."

"You don't know that for sure."

"Oh really Tifa, well would you like to experience some of it right now? Come closer and I will let you feel what I am feeling right now."

Shelke had a panicked look on her face at this suggestion when Tifa stepped forward to see what it was like in Larissa's head. Larissa placed her gloved hand against Tifa's silky forehead to transfer some of the atmosphere she has been living in. Tifa thought she would be able to handle it when a huge wave of pain engulfed her mind and clogged her heart as she tried to breathe.

Now screaming in agony, she collapsed to the floor in a crumbled heap until Larissa released her hand from her wrinkled forehead. She finally came back to her senses and noticed that Larissa was laughing.

"Look at you, shaking on the floor when I only had my hand in your mind for a few seconds. Just think of handling something like that for at least 10 years or more. You would have died in a matter of minutes."

Clearing her head to return to the present, she looked at Larissa with a horrid expression.

Then Tifa replied, "So you're in pain most of the time, you can bare it because you are supernatural."

"You still don't get it Tifa. Maybe a visual might help you see how much pain I am in."

At this time Larissa removes her gloves and reveals the transparent film that covers her muscles that have begun to turn a dull red instead of the brighter shade that shows they are healthy. Tifa recoiled from Larissa's hands as she watched her flex them back and forth.

"And that's not all. It has spread from my waist on down and my arms as you can see."

Larissa pulled up her sleeves up to reveal the rest of her dull red muscles and the pants legs to show that it really had spread all the way down to her toes.

"Tifa, the only thing that is supernatural about me is my wing, which causes more trouble than the initial problem."

"Ugh, but that only means you are loosing more of your humanly traits."

"You humans are so arrogant! Saying it in that way makes it sound like I have done nothing for this Planet. Doesn't anyone ever see the good I have done to keep this earth alive from dieing away? No, all they see is a mutated object taking up space. Besides Tifa have you ever looked at your group of friends and their loses?"

She looked at Larissa with a blank expression that told her that she had not.

Heaving a sigh Larissa says, "Vincent has lost his human body and Lucrecia; Cloud lost Zack, Aeris, and his parents, Barret lost his wife and home, Cid could not live his dream because the space program was not refunded, Yuffie's town was under attack in a war that cost many lives, Nanaki lost his grandfather, Shelke lost her sister, and the list goes on and on for many others. You are not the only one who has suffered. If you ask me that is a little girl's way of thinking."

Bidding Shelke farewell, Larissa left the room to rest by the church for Tseng's arrival in the next few hours. Tifa just stood there in total shock while tears continued to flow from her eyes. Shelke put her arm around her as she steered Tifa out of the board room to sit at the counter. Walking carefully around the wet painted area, Shelke drew a glass of water from the faucet and handed it to Tifa, who accepted it gratefully.

After finishing the drink with a trembling hand, Shelke faces Tifa from across the counter and says, "Larissa is doing the best she can, you should know better than to challenge her in such a way. Did you not notice how much she was trying to hold her hands by her sides? I thought she was going to strangle you."

Tifa looked at Shelke with sadness and said, "That is not my concern right now Shelke, what am I going to do about the future? Cloud does not want to marry me."

"Tifa isn't it about time you started growing up and looking elsewhere? There are other men in the world who I know would love to have you as their wife. And you should have some concern for Larissa, especially now. Because of her this world has not crumbled under Sephiroth and Jenova yet. You need to start looking at the big picture instead of yourself. The big picture is what will determine your future as well as the rest of the world. Just think about it."

When Shelke was done with her little speech, she came out from behind the counter and walked straight out the front doors to go to the lab to see how well Larissa's body was doing. Tifa remained at the counter thinking over what Shelke said while Larissa sat in front of the church doors waiting for Tseng's arrival. All was quiet in Midgar as the rest of the city slept for another few dreamless hours, not worried about anything except what the new day would bring them.


	23. Searching for a Truth

By the church doors, Larissa sat for Tseng's arrival for a meeting that was long overdo. Billowing in the wind was her light honey hair along with her white robes wrapped loosely around her dissolving body. In the deep shadows of the next building, a shadow of a tall man stood with a golden hand that caught the light of the rising sun. His crimson eyes practically glowed as he watched over the woman that he desperately loved and wanted to protect. Larissa could feel his burning desire to sit next to her on the cold soil outside of the church, but warded him off with gentle reassurances to stay away.

Rising out of the edges of the sun Tseng came into view, walking briskly in anticipation to meet Larissa about a certain matter at hand. Larissa rose to her feet effortlessly as she waited for him to approach her first. Vincent became more alert as he saw Tseng advancing for he saw how anxious he seemed to feel in his hurried walk.

"Larissa, you are here," says Tseng.

"Yes I am. We have many things to discuss Tseng, but I think we should go to your apartment on 2651 Celestial Avenue."

"You're right that would be wise to do so."

Vincent took note of the apartment location and immediately flew off to rest lightly on the roof top of the building. Tseng locked arms with Larissa and together they set off to 2651 Celestial Avenue. The door was all ready unlocked when Larissa turned the door knob to let them both in. She was not surprised to find his apartment similar to Vincent's. All the furniture was the same and the same arrangement, the only thing different was the colors. Tseng liked the dark navy of his well pressed suits to cover his bed and couch. His lamp was navy also with accents of black for his furniture. The bathroom was of course a lighter color than his bedroom, which was white just like his collared shirts underneath his suits.

It occurred to her early in life that the best Turks always had the neatest living quarters with the colors they were wearing everyday. But this one did not comfort her as much as Vincent's did, that she could not explain. When Tseng closed the door behind him he sat down on his couch and motioned for Larissa to join him. She decided to stand because this matter she had in mind could not be done calmly.

"Larissa, what has been happening here lately? I am sorely hurt that that group Avalanche knows more than I do."

Clenching her fingers she says, "The reason why they know more than you do right now is because you disobeyed me."

"What do you mean I disobeyed you?! I have done everything…"

"No you have not!" Larissa interrupted.

"Larissa what have I done?"

"Oh do not pull an act of stupidity on me Tseng. Who else would have told Rufus about my body than you! I have been seeing men from SOLDIER snooping around Nibelhiem and other parts of the world that they do not belong. Tell me how else they would have known."

Tseng's poster stiffened as he tried to hide the scars that were developing on his wrists. "I do not know Larissa, but what about Reeves of the WRO? He could have told Rufus something."

"You know damn well that Reeves does not talk to Rufus unless he has to, and telling him that would not give him any advantages on this situation. And…"

Larissa stopped speaking abruptly as her dull eyes caught site of a bloody bandage on his black desk in front of his bed.

"Tseng what is that?" Larissa asks while still looking at the bandage, thinking that it would give her the answer before he could.

"That is nothing Larissa, Reno just acting reckless again."

"Reno would have to be in severe pain for that much blood lose. And I just saw him the other day fit as ever with Elena at his side."

Beads of sweat began to form on Tseng's pale forehead as he tried to find a better excuse for the bandages that came from him instead of Reno. Larissa witnessed the tension and examined his body to see a light maroon stain on the cuff of his beautiful tailored suit. Tseng saw the trail of her eyes to his wrists and decided to hide them behind his back, but he was too slow for her quick movements.

Grabbing his right sleeve, she pulls back the cuff to reveal a blood stained wrist under the transparent white shirt that covers his manicured skin. Ashamed Tseng looks away as Larissa unbuttons the white cuff of his shirt to examine the scar more closely. "Well it looks like you are not the only one that has been kept in the dark. Tell me truthfully where you got this?" asks Larissa calmly.

"When Rufus asked about you I did not tell him anything. I have told him nothing on your whereabouts or your plans since the day you were rediscovered. Since I have not relayed any information like I was supposed to he…"

"He did what?"

"He told his soldiers to carry me to this steel room full of circuits of electric wiring. When they turned on the lights they revealed this wall with cables for the wrists and ankles. The soldiers hooked me up to that and waited until Rufus arrived," Tseng replied quietly.

"Then Rufus came in and asked you questions and when you did not answer him he would electrocute you for insubordination. How original," finishes Larissa.

Tseng winced at the pressure Larissa was applying for the wound since it would not stop bleeding. "And when I reached my limit I told him that there might be one, but I was not specific. After he got that much out of me he told the soldiers to let me go," says Tseng.

"Let me see your wrists and ankles Tseng." Larissa commands.

He pulled up his other sleeve to reveal the same result as this right wrist and the pants legs to show blood slowly trickling out of the bandages he had applied. Waving her hand over them they began to cure, wiping the scars away instantly. Relieved to be rid of the pain he relaxed a little bit under Larissa's firm grasp. When she opened the jacket to see if anything else was wrong she noticed that Tseng's chest was bleeding a little bit too. Opening it up quickly she waves her hand over the chest wound and heals it in a matter of seconds. "I wish that could have happened under different circumstances," says Tseng with a sly smile.

"Do not ruin the moment by being an animal. We have other pressing matters to attend to. Who is leading the soldiers?"

"An accountant by the name of Maverick."

"An accountant, what for?!"

"I really don't know and he knows more than we care to. It seems Shinra knows all about your so called body, your state of being as in your disappearance of your skin, and that Tifa is vulnerable because Cloud will not go out with her."

"How the hell do they know all of this?! That is confidential information that we only know of."

"I know, I thought about capturing Maverick to see if he will spill the truth."

"I would love to help you on that and we have to make it to the diner fast, otherwise Maverick will milk Tifa for all she is worth in her emotional state. Shall we do it in a Turk like fashion close to your nature?"

Smiling even bigger Tseng replies, "That would be lovely. I just knew when I saw you that day that you should have been a Turk. Let's see how well you perform."

"I think you will find it satisfactory."

Both laughed merrily as they made their way out of Tseng's apartment and back onto the sidewalk of the overly crowded city. Vincent took off minutes ago to watch the scene that was about to happen at 7th Heaven, and decided to keep it to himself for the safety of the situation.

At this very moment the man they were pursuing came into 7th Heaven to eat a light lunch while achieving his mission that Rufus gave him. He felt wrong in taking advantage of a woman with a broken heart, but if he did not do this he would be severely punished. A shiver traveled through this body as he made his way to the counter. Tifa eyed the stranger the moment he walked in and found that he was quite handsome. He did not have a very muscular body, but that did not make his frame hideous to the public eye. His stance was firm while his deep hazel eyes scanned the room with amusement as he saw some of the women eyeing him intently. The golden blonde hair he had was cut short on his well manicured head along with his full appearance of a successful business man.

Tifa stared a little bit longer before turning away with a loud thump that rose from her chest. She put her hand over it and realized it was her heart pounding madly for the stranger that just walked in. Trying to hide this sudden emotion, she busied herself with the children who were playing a card game at the counter.

This hazel eyed blonde that the women began to adore was none other than Maverick, the man who has come forward to do an awful deed for Shinra. It is sad to say that he is also an accountant for the same company. If only the women knew this piece of vital information they would not think of him as much of a man. Slowly approaching the black bar, Maverick took a casual seat that set his back against the front door. A foolish, costly mistake can only be made by an amateur.

Looking out of the corner of her dark brown eyes she sees that the stranger has taken a seat and decides to not keep him waiting like she planned to do. Walking calmly to take his order, she took one look in his eyes and saw many things that startled her greatly. His hazel eyes seemed to say that he was nervous or scared about something. When he saw that Tifa had approached him at the counter with a pot of fresh coffee he put on his most charming smile that took her breath away. It lit up every part of his elegant face with a sweet light of happiness.

"Hello, how can I help you?" asks Tifa quietly.

"Well I would love to have some of your coffee miss uh what is your name?"

"Tifa."

"Oh so you're the owner of this little diner and delivery service. I must say that you have quite a set up here. It seems really successful."

"Yes we do pretty well here in 7th Heaven. And your name would be?"

"Oh sorry where are my manners. My name is Maverick; it is a pleasure to meet you Tifa."

"Likewise; do you want anything else besides coffee Maverick?"

"Oh no that will be all for now thanks, but why don't you stay for a while. I would really like to talk to you."

Taken by his enchanting smile Tifa decided to stay. "Well ok but only for a little while though. I do have other customers coming in and out that I have to attend to."

"Yes, yes of course. I would not image it any other way. Tell me, I have been hearing rumors floating around the city that a woman by the name of Larissa is roaming around. Who is she?"

"I wouldn't be surprised. That woman is real and she has way too many issues for me to tell. I just know she has an awful temper and hurts anyone she can in order to get her way."

"That must not be true, how could a person be so heartless. They would not be human."

"Well that is just the thing she is not human, at least not completely. It's amazing how she functions."

"Really, well surely she must use something to get by."

"She says she was once part of the Jenova Project and that Hojo took her body away. I didn't believe it at first, but now…"

"Now what?"

"I'll just say that I believe much more than I used to. She's been so cruel to me."

"How can that be, you are such a nice person."

Blushing Tifa says, "Ah well she took Cloud away from me and now I don't know what to do with my life. I feel so lost and lonely."

"I wish I could do something for you Tifa. No one should feel like that when the world has so much to offer. But tell me is there a body somewhere of Larissa and where might it be?"

"Oh don't mind me, I am sure I can figure out something by myself. Well there is one and it's…"

At that moment Larissa and Tseng entered the diner with elegant speed. When Larissa heard all that Tifa had told this Maverick person she nearly blew up. _"How can Tifa be so stupid, I will have to kill her later on or erase her memory if that will solve the problem," _she thought menacingly. Gliding expertly toward the counter she extends her hand out to Maverick's back to immobilize him from talking any further. His body froze instantly at Larissa's touch as Tseng came out behind her and put his gun against his back for a threatening affect.

Tifa was about to protest, but stopped when Larissa's dim eyes met hers with complete hatred. The hatred continued to grow until she saw the light go out in her eyes, which left a dark black hole in the hollow eye sockets of her skull. Tifa drowned out a low scream before fleeing from the counter to the back room.

"We have much to discuss Maverick, come with me," says Larissa coldly as she teleports them back to Tseng's apartment where a chair was waiting for him with chords wrapped around the back. Tseng did the honors of tying Maverick up for questioning for they did not want him to escape. Larissa lowered her hand from Maverick and he slowly came back to life. When he finally came to he looked in Larissa's black eyes and stared with horror at the damage that something else had caused.

"Well hello Maverick," says Larissa coolly. "I see you have been talking to Tifa and I cannot believe a person such as yourself would pick her brain like that. It's just awful."

Maverick just sat their like a shocked zombie as he watched Larissa walk in front of him like she was on air. Then he finally asked, "Who are you and what do you want with me?"

"Cutting right to the point, very good. I see Shinra has trained you well in this kind of business, too bad Rufus never told you how to get out of this one. I am Larissa and you are here for questioning."

"You are the Larissa from the Jenova Project?! What happened to you?"

"That is a long story that we do not have time for. Let's just say I have gone through some transformations. Anyway what is the purpose of a person like you leading the men of SOLDIER to find my body? What does Rufus want with it?"

At first Maverick was too terrified to speak, but just one look in Larissa's eyes made him spill everything. "Rufus wants to find your body because he thinks he can control you with it. He thinks there is some hidden power that will bend you to his will. Rufus wanted me to do it because he sees how the Turks are very close to you and Avalanche. If word got out for what he was planning, he thought you would kill him immediately."

"He is right in a sense that I would love to kill him, yet I would not do it so hastily. He still has some use, what else do you know of his scheme?"

Maverick remained silent at this question with his eyes staring down at his brown polished Oxford shoes. When he did not respond, Larissa raised her hand and sent an electric shock through his body as punishment. It was similar to what Tseng endured a few hours ago and found it quite enjoyable when someone else was getting the treatment. He screamed momentarily until the shock took its course and released itself at the end of his feet. Maverick's body slackened against the dark wooden chair as he tried to remain conscious.

"I still wonder why Rufus would pick such a weak subject to care out his dirty work. Sure it took me a little while to figure it out, but so much has been happening. How does Rufus know so much about what we are doing?"

Tseng just stood behind the chair and nodded in agreement. Maverick finally came to and said, "Please stop! I will tell you the rest if only you will spare me the pain. Rufus plans to send the whole SOLIDER army after you and capture you if they can. As for knowing about you and the others, he told me to plant microscopic cameras all around the area so he could watch what was going on."

"How sneaky and fun this will be to mess with Rufus's head instead," Larissa says casually. "When does he plan to make this drastic move?"

"By the end of this week, at least that was what he told me yesterday."

"I will never be able to breath for a second without someone or something that needs tending to. Ok that will do Maverick, but before I let you go I must do something for you that will make your life much easier to live."

"And what would that be Larissa?" asks Maverick uneasily.

"Erase some of your memories. With your memory altered to believe that you never worked for Shinra will allow you to walk this earth a free man. Besides it's not like you have a say in this manner anyway."

"You're not going to kill me?" says Maverick with relief seeping through his speech.

"No, that will only release Rufus of another duty he would soon fulfill if you misbehaved. I want to screw around with his plans and this will do the trick, just sit back in the chair and relax. It will be all over very soon."

Smiling a little bit, Larissa places her gloved hand on Maverick's golden forehead and starts to close her eyes for concentration. At first he stifled a small scream while Larissa rummaged through his memories to find the ones that needed to be deleted.

About five minutes went by until Larissa was finished. When she removed her hand from his head, he slowly blinked his eyes to regain control of his mind again. Maverick looked all around the room to figure out where he was. He finally set his gaze on Larissa and felt a slight shiver run up and down his spine again.

"Hello little man, what is your name?"

He blinked again then said, "Hello my name is Maverick."

"Good and what do you do for a living?"

"I am an accountant."

"And where do you work?"

"I am looking for a job at the moment."

"Wonderful and where will you not work?"

"I will not work for Shinra because I heard it was an awful business with lousy pay."

Tseng stared at Larissa with amazement as she untied Maverick from the modern wooden chair and watched him leave with a satisfied look on her face. When he closed the door behind him Tseng said, "Now that is something I wish I could do."

"Yes it is a remarkable and useful tool for situations such as these."

"Well what do we do about Rufus and SOLDIER?"

"Kill them."

Tseng just froze at not what she said, but how she said it. Her tone was filled with hatred and loathing for the company that he did not know what to say next.

"I will kill all of the SOLDIER men and spare Rufus with an option that he will not be able to refuse easily. It is up to the others of Avalanche and yourself if you want to join me. The meeting for the situation will happen tomorrow at Tifa's board room in the diner. You may come if you like with whoever wants to join in this ongoing battle."

Tseng cupped his hands around Larissa's pale face and said with a determined gaze, "I will be there, count on it."

Smiling, they both went out of the apartment to go their own separate ways. They could prepare for the next day when they would need all the energy they could muster for Shinra.


	24. A Meeting for Battle

Early the next morning, Larissa rose from Vincent's bed in his apartment since that is where he took her once she left Tseng's apartment. He wanted to know everything, which made him feel like he needed to guard her more than ever. Luckily, Vincent blended in well inside Midgar's landscape; otherwise Larissa would be able to find him easily on every corner she walked. But it was not like she could not sense him around her, yet it calmed Larissa to find such strange security from a man she deeply admired. 

Stretching leisurely on his black comforter she rose to find Vincent sitting on the couch reading the Kalm newspaper. When he saw that she had risen from her sleep he greeted her with a warm smile that seemed to touch her dying heart with tenderness. 

"Morning Larissa, you feel better?" he says gruffly. 

"Yes Vincent, why wouldn't I be?" 

Hesitating for a few seconds he replies carefully, "You were mumbling something in your sleep and it sounded tragic. All I could hear from your soft lips was "it's time for us to die," that is why I had to ask. It concerns me deeply." 

"Well that dream was pretty vivid, I guess I was just disturbed by it that's all. Do not worry yourself over a little matter such as that." 

Vincent continued to pour his crimson eyes into her, but found nothing that would calm his mind at the moment until she said, "I need to go back to Midgar if you don't mind. I have some things to discuss with all of you and it will determine what will happen next. Tell me, what month is this?"

"It's almost the end of March."

"That does not leave me with much time, let's go to 7th Heaven. Do you mind?"

"You should know by now that I never mind doing anything for you. By the way, Cloud was looking for you yesterday. It seemed he wanted to talk to you about something." 

Larissa groaned lightly at the thought of confronting him at such a time like this. She asks cautiously, "You don't think it is about his emotions do you?"

"I doubt he will ever confront you with such a sensitive topic. No, I think it will be something completely different." 

"Ok, I guess I will talk to Cloud first in the church before everyone else. Are you ready to leave?" 

Nodding his head in answer he decided to teleport them to Midgar instead. Walking boldly forward, he wrapped his blood red tattered cape around them both and took off. They arrived right at the entrance of Midgar with a red flash that causes some of the people to look around in wonder. Going their separate ways at the gates, Larissa made her way toward the church that jutted out from the debris that surrounded the eerie landscape. It was quite odd that no one in Midgar had bothered to clean up the mess; maybe they were afraid they would taint it if touched by their hands. Arriving at the front doors in no time at all she peered inside to find Cloud sitting by the flowers, taking in the sweet fragrance. 

"Cloud?" Larissa asks softly.

Cloud raised his eyes quickly to find Larissa walking to meet him by Aeris's flower bed. "Larissa, I see Vincent must have told you that I wanted to speak with you." 

"Yes he did and I am all ears." 

Still sitting on the wooden floor like a child he asks, "Larissa what is going to happen to us?" 

Larissa decided to sit next to Cloud by the flowers and noticed that they were not as vibrant as they used to be. Concerned about this she made a mental note to visit Aeris and Zack real soon. They needed to know what was going on too. "Before I answer that Cloud, let me ask you a question. Why do you ask?" 

"Well I have been having nightmares about being in the Forbidden Forest, but everything else is blurry. I can hear voices that sound like you and Sephiroth over the little lake that is in the middle of everything. But that's all I see and every time I wake up I have this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that something might be coming that we are not anticipating." 

Sitting very still she says hollowly, "So you are having the dream too?"

Noticing the change of her tone he asks, "What does it all mean?"

"I wish I could give you a full answer Cloud. The dream has been coming to me more frequently these past few days, yet I am just the opposite. I can see everything but my hearing is impaired. As for the meaning of it all I am not quite sure yet. I will figure it out once I resolve another conflict that is in the way at the moment."

"Another conflict, what could that be?" 

"That is something I want to discuss with everyone. If you come with me to 7th Heaven I will tell you, but could you call the bottom half of your list? Vincent is taking care of the rest right now." 

"Sure Larissa that will be no problem at all." 

They both walked together to 7th Heaven to see everyone gathered inside the front door. When they got closer Larissa could here Barret say, "Why the hell were we called here again! I was playing with Marlene so this better be good. 

"I bet it's got to me something important, but I hope it's quick. I just met this really cool guy named Kane and he is so cute! Tifa you should come to my shop to meet him, I think he is going to ask me out," says Yuffie excitedly. 

"I wonder how she has been doing these days," says Reeves. 

"I have been doing pretty well," says Larissa behind him. 

Reeves quickly turns around to see her standing very erect with a business like expression pasted on her off white face. Everyone else just stared as they noticed that Larissa's golden eyes had disappeared into total darkness. Tseng showed up just in time to see that Larissa had arrived when she said she would. "It seems everyone is here, which is good. All to the board room for a little meeting about a matter close at hand," she says directly. 

Everyone filed in their usual seats at the all too familiar long mahogany table. Taking her position at the front of the table she says, "Alright, I am going to make this meeting short since I know we all have things we need or want to do. You should not groan too much about my meetings anyway. They never take long at all.

"I have been speaking with Tseng here and he tells me that Rufus plans to try and take me hostage. Funny how he thinks he can do that, but the main problem with this is how he wants to do it. He wants to send SOLDIER through Midgar to fight me. Since Jenova is dead in the Northern Crater they will be easy to kill."

"What do you mean Larissa?" asks Reeves. 

"If you have not noticed by now, then let me tell you," continues Larissa. "The old Shinra tradition to inject Jenova cells inside their bodies to make them stronger is still in affect. You should look in their eyes sometime; it is amazing how much Mako energy has intoxicated them to become brainless fools. The blood cells should be popping slowly within their bloodstream until it kills them all. I will do the honor of quickening their death since it is inevitable. I know no method that will save them. This will all happen by the end of this week. 

"Now listen carefully to this part. You are under no obligation to aid me in this fight nor were you in the beginning. This is completely up to you and what you think you will gain from it. All I demand of you is that you stay out of the way if you do not choose to fight. And above all else protect the children; they are the bright future that will heal the world of its evil." 

Larissa finished in a causal tone that made the room fill with tension. Vincent was the first one to speak up from the group, who felt uneasy still. "I will fight along side you Larissa, just tell me what to do and I will be there." 

Barret said in a booming voice, "Yo Larissa I am all for this battle against Shinra. It's what I've waited for all of my life!" 

"Bring it on!" yells Cid with enthusiasm. 

"You know I will be there," says Reeves. 

Nanaki and Shelke both nodded their involvement while Cait Sith meowed an approval. Of course Tifa and Yuffie could not stay out of this fight, so they willingly agreed to join. Cloud was the only one who had said nothing through the whole procession. Everyone faced him to hear his answer. His electric blue eyes glowed as he said, "There is no doubt in my mind that Rufus has done such a terrible deed to those innocent men. I will definitely be there to end such a crime committed for far too long." 

"Alright then be ready by Friday," says Tseng behind Larissa. "They are planning to come to the diner from the Shinra building itself and merge to the center of Midgar to tell Larissa to come out. Once this occurs everyone get in your positions and be ready to fight."

"Keep in mind though that it will be short. I do not plan to stretch it on for too long," comments Larissa as she glanced at everyone's determined faces. 

"Well I am off to the church, you are all dismissed. I will be in Midgar with you all for the remainder of this month, so it should not be difficult to find me," says Larissa while walking out the board room doors to exit the diner. Cloud hastily followed after her to see if she was going to talk to Aeris and Zack. 

On the busy streets once again Cloud traces Larissa's footsteps to the very place he predicted earlier. Following stealthily behind her, he observes her walking briskly to the front doors of the church with urgency. Upon entering the church after Larissa, Cloud sees her observing the flowers again with deep sadness. 

"Larissa, what's wrong?" asks Cloud lightly. 

She picks up her head from the flower bed at her feet and says, "These flowers, there is something not right about them. Can't you tell?" 

Cloud came forward to examine the flowers more closely with Larissa and found that she was right, but the flowers that were not doing well were not Aeris's. Aeris's flowers were a bright pastel yellow full of the sun's rays while the new pure white ones were fading into a dull color of light gray. 

"I guess the reason why you have followed me here Cloud is because you want to know if I am going to talk to Aeris and Zack or not," says Larissa as her eyes continue to gaze at the flowery floor. 

"Yes I am curious, are you going to?" he asks innocently. 

"It would be wise to, yet I will be going to them as usual. I am afraid you will not be able to see them this time."

"That's ok, I will wait here for your return," replies Cloud with a definite tone that told Larissa that he was not going to leave any time soon. 

Picking an illuminating yellow flower from the bed, Larissa centers herself once more in the middle of it all and allows her body to leave the earth to the Spirit World like she has done so many times before.

Rising up into a pure white room, she searches for a sign of Aeris or Zack close by. When she senses no one is around she calls, _"Aeris, Zack, are any of you here?" _

Galloping through the white mist is Zack with a jubilant smile smeared across his handsome features. _"Hey Larissa, long time no see! How fares it in the real world?" _

"_The real world is full of remorse and chaos, but besides those two components I think it is doing pretty well. How are you and Aeris?" _

"_Aeris and I are doing great. Wow, the world is in that much turmoil huh? Well what can I do for you?" _

"_Well nothing really, I just wanted to inform you that Avalanche and I are going head on with Rufus and SOLDIER this Friday. You and Aeris can watch if you would like." _

"_Fight! Now why would that need to happen?" _

"_What I have heard from Tseng, Rufus plans to control me with his pathetic forces. I am sure you are aware of the inevitable deaths that those men face." _

"_That is what Aeris is working on right now actually. She heard from one of the leaders of the Spirit World that many men were going to die in Midgar and they need her help to send them off where they need to go. I hope you can stick around though because I know Aeris would love to talk to you about all of this."_

"_I would love to and I have a nagging question that I would like to ask her too when she arrives." _

"_Oh really, maybe I can answer it for her or at least give some advice on the matter." _

"_Ok Zack I will try you. Here is the question, why are the white flowers in her church a dull gray now? They used to be full of life and brightness." _

Zack floated in the air for what seemed like hours before saying, _"Maybe you are right, this question would be a great one to ask Aeris once she gets here." _

"_Did someone say my name?" _

"_Ah there she is now. Over here Aeris, Larissa is here to visit us."_

Gliding over in a princess like fashion Aeris appeared before Larissa with her gentle smile that could warm anyone's heart. 

"_Larissa, I am so glad you came to see us! It has been far too long since we have heard from you. What's been going on?" _

Larissa told Aeris and Zack in full detail of what happened just a few minutes ago with her meeting with Avalanche. Both Aeris and Zack were not pleased of Rufus's actions, yet approved wholeheartedly with Larissa's option she was going to give to him once he lost the battle. 

"_Oh by the way Aeris, Larissa has a question for you that I could not answer. Go ahead Larissa ask her." _

"_Oh yes, Aeris do you know why the white flowers in your church are turning into a dull gray color?" _

"_White flowers? That's strange I don't remember every planting them." _

"_What, how can that be? Ever since I came to Midgar there have always been white flowers intermingling with your bright yellow ones." _

Aeris's face had a cute puzzled look that made Zack smile uncontrollably. 

"_I am impressed Larissa. I have never seen anyone puzzle Aeris to where she had to resort to serious thinking." _

Aeris ignored this comment and began to scrutinize Larissa very carefully, so she would not miss anything. When her emerald green eyes settled on Larissa's now cold black ones she saw the problem. The white flowers came from Larissa, which was obvious but they were fading away because she was dying or suffering from Jenova. She even saw the transparent skin that covered the lower half of Larissa's body away from the Heavenly Tear. And her right wing, something was different about it.

"_The reason why the flowers are fading away Larissa is because you are fading away too. The flowers are like a source of earthly power that you gave to the Planet, just like my yellow ones in the church. I can see that the death of Jenova has not been kind to you, but what worries me more is your wing. Have you used it since that event?" _

"_No Aeris I have not because I did not see a reason to use it until now. It will be open for me to use against Rufus, so the battle can be short and sweet. I do not want to waste my time on them. Why should you be concerned for it?" _

"_I am concerned because I thought your wing was created from Jenova cells and if that is true, then your wing might not function properly. Who knows maybe it will fall off or not expand from your body at all." _

Larissa had never thought about her wing ever working since it sprouted. Then she says, _"Maybe you are right Aeris. I have never even given it a thought after Jenova died. I bet you can see how my senses have disappeared for the moment, so maybe that is why I have not noticed anything peculiar about it. I am completely numb." _

With a sad stricken smile Aeris replies, _"Yes I have noticed. What are we going to do now?" _

"_Nothing, I will just have to wait it out like everything else that has happened to me. What choice do we really have?" _

"_But what if the wing does fall off? Won't that handicap or possibly kill you in the process?" _ asks Zack worriedly. 

Aeris's earthly eyes grew wide at the idea and said quickly, _"Maybe it would be best if you kept the wing inside you when you fight Rufus. That way you don't have to risk anything, at least not until it is over. Then we can examine you closely and see if we can repair it." _

"_Good thinking Aeris! I always knew you were the smart one," _says Zack while heaving a sigh of relief. 

"_That might work, but you must remember that this body has a mind of its own. I can control it the majority of the time until it decides to do something radical. The wing sprouting from me at the Christmas party is a prime example of this." _

"_Well then we will just have to monitor you, that's all. It shouldn't be that difficult." _

"_As you wish Aeris, but I must be going now. I seem to be weakening every moment I spend in the Spirit World. I will have to come back on a later date. I hope you will forgive my short visit. I owe you both so much in return." _

"_That's quite alright Larissa. I hope you feel better soon. Goodbye."_

"_Definitely, Larissa how about I escort you back to the real world. I hate to send you off by yourself." _

"_Why thank you Aeris and that is quite alright Zack. Cloud decided to stay and wait for me, so I think I will be just fine."_

"_Oh well at least let me walk with you to the portal to head back home."_

Larissa obliged to Zack's generosity and let him escort her back to the white hole in the floor that led back to the church. Stopping right in front of it, Zack gave Larissa a tight hug and kissed her gently on the forehead for luck. Smiling back at him for a brief second, Larissa gave him a kiss on the cheek and hopped into the portal to return to Cloud. 

Once Larissa was gone, Zack had a worried Aeris on his hands. 

"_Well what do we do about this? There is no way that wing is going to work the way we want it to."_

Aeris paced back and forth until an idea struck her that lit up her whole body with a rosy glow. 

"_Lucrecia, if anyone would have a solution to Larissa's body transformations it's her. I am going to run off and see if I can find where she is hiding." _

Rushing back inside the white mist, Aeris traveled everywhere around the Spirit World asking them where Lucrecia might be. She finally got the correct answer from a scientist that seemed to come from France. Running in the directions she gave her, Aeris found Lucrecia looking over the ocean with a peaceful glow. 

Aeris approached her slowly and said, _"Lucrecia can I talk to you?" _

The beautiful biotechnical scientist turned around with a brilliant smile and responded, _"Why sure Aeris, what is it that you ask of me?" _

"_Well it's about Larissa. She has killed Jenova in the Northern Crater to where she is no longer of this world. It is wonderful news, yet what about her wing? Will it work properly or will it fall off?" _

"_Jenova is dead! So that's why the world looks so much brighter these past few days. She was sucking up all the life energy from the planet for her own use."_

"_Yes it is a marvelous thing, but what about Larissa's wing? What condition do you think it is in?" _

"_There is no way that wing will be able to function, that's for certain." _

Lucrecia floated there for a time before she realized how serious this situation was becoming.

"_Oh Aeris! I am so sorry for being really light headed. The outcome of Larissa loosing her wing would mean death."_

"_That was what I was afraid of. Do you have any suggestions of how to save it, any at all?" _

She continued to work the gears of her mind as Aeris waited patiently for a solution to this huge issue. Then Lucrecia's face turned grave as she said, _"I do have an idea, but for it to be permanent is another thing. It is a huge risk to take, especially for the Heavenly Tear. But if I can find it and ripen its power then we might be in for a whole new Larissa transformation again."_

"_That's alright as long as we have something to go on. What exactly is your plan?" _

"_My plan is to search for the "G" cell that Shinra used to use many years ago on humans. It should replace the lost Jenova cells in Larissa's body and hopefully she will regain some power back. But of course it is a long shot. How much time do I have to do this?" _

"_About two days, do you think you can do it? Zack and I will help if that will speed things up a bit."_

"_I am always under a short time frame for that woman. No I must do this alone Aeris, but thank you for your generous offer. Just keep watch over Larissa will you?" _

"_Yes of course Lucrecia. If you need anything don't be afraid to ask us."_

"_Don't worry I won't. I better get started on this task then. Goodbye Aeris."_

At that moment Lucrecia turned away from Aeris and dashed off in the opposite area of the Spirit World, the area that was strictly forbidden to certain spirits because of what it contained. Fall into the wrong place and that place might ruin your soul. Aeris still felt anxious once she returned to find Zack watching over Larissa and Cloud talking in the church. Taking a seat beside him she told him everything that transpired between her and Lucrecia. He became concerned too, but did not think Larissa was going to die just yet. No, the Planet still had some kind of plan for her and he desperately wanted to know what it was. 


	25. A G Cell?

**Another note: This chapter is pretty much based on some events from Crisis Core that is coming out March 25 for the PSP. I wanted to include them in it because they play a major role in how Final Fantasy VII was formed. I hope you like what I have done. I cannot believe I am almost done with my story, only a few chapters left! =) **

Lucrecia came upon a dim path that ran even further back into the Spirit World where she had to go. Even as a spirit she had to caught her breath from such a hard jog from Zack and Aeris. Stepping lightly onto the gray road she felt a tremor of horror seize her soul as she tried to walk forward. Motivation seemed to help Lucrecia stroll the rest of the way until she met a guardian figure blocking the rest of her way. He wore a pure white silk robe outlined in silver that brushed the floor and a long golden rod as his weapon. His face seemed wise with all the wrinkles that were folded neatly on his handsome face. The eyes that started at Lucrecia lawfully were royal blue of great authority.

His voice rumbled when he asked her, _"This path for anyone such as you Lucrecia is forbidden. Turn back now since your presence is not welcome here." _

"_Please let me through Wise One. I need to speak to someone on the other side about urgent business. It concerns a very ill woman on earth."_

"_Oh really, who is it that you wish to speak to on this side of the Spirit World? And who is this woman that needs help?"_

"_Wise One, her name is Larissa and as for the person I need to speak to his name is Genesis." _

"_Genesis?! How can he be of any help to that poor woman who is fighting for the Planet once again? You must be sorely mistaken."_

"_No Wise One I am speaking the truth. Genesis has the solution I am looking for, may I please speak to him? I only have two days to see if this will work." _

The wise man studied Lucrecia a little bit longer before gesturing her to stay put while he went into the shadows to retrieve Genesis from the depths. While he was gone an old friend of Genesis as well as Zack's appeared out of the mist and said, _"Do you really think it is a smart decision to talk to Genesis, Lucrecia?_

She jumped at the sound of a muffled male's voice and said in return, _"It is the only solution I can think of to cure Larissa unless you have a better idea. By the way, what is your name?"_

A tall muscular outline came to be a man with long black hair in a SOLDIER's uniform. Lucrecia was a little taken aback by his appearance to be such a rough looking individual with gentle eyes.

"_My name is Angeal. I was in SOLDIER with Genesis, Sephiroth, and Zack. As you can see Genesis and I have paid a heavy price for joining Shinra when we thought it would be great, so much for the hero fantasy. Larissa, that name sounds familiar."_

"_I would think it would to you since she was made when you joined SOLDIER along with the others. She is Sephiroth's other half and the last of the Jenova Project. She is the one who is fighting for our world to rid of what Hojo and Hollander started. But she is having difficulty functioning once again because her body is not holding up very well at all. It was poorly made for these harsh conditions she has been through already."_

"_Wait, that woman in the tank. That was what she was used for?! It just angers me what they have done to innocent people, especially to such a beautiful girl."_

"_Yes, she was also used for many other things, but I will not go into great detail about them. Too much time is already being wasted while I am waiting on Genesis to arrive." _

At the mention of his name he appeared along with the Wise One in a pretty decent mood despite the condition. His eyes glowed in a hollow way as he said,_ "Well hello Lucrecia. What can I do for you? "_

"_I need your help Genesis, it's about Larissa. I need to know where I can find a huge sample of G cells." _

"_Larissa, that name. Why do I know it so well?"_

"_Because Genesis that is the woman that fought with you in Deep Ground for a short time before they moved her somewhere else."_

_What, that beautiful woman with the white broad wing?! So that was her name, she never did give it to me until later on. I remember that she wanted to break out of Shinra. Remember that Angeal?"_

"_Ha, I remember that like it was yesterday. I wish I could have gone with her."_

"_Yeah, and she was right about the cell projects from the very start. She told me one day when I was experimenting with the G cells that I would become weaker while Sephiroth would go insane because of his discovery with the Jenova cells. A very remarkable, intelligent woman."_

"_Does this mean you will help me find a sample of G cells to restore her? I have no other idea that can save her this time. It is my only hope that it will work."_

"_Hmm, well since you are being so nice about it I will help, but under one condition. You let me see Larissa and I will give you my G cells to replenish what she has lost. It is only fair don't you think so Lucrecia?"_

"_Why would you want to see Larissa, Genesis?" _

"_Because we have some things we need to clear up. I would have done it if I hadn't died beforehand. Do we have a deal?" _

"_Yes we have a deal."_

"_Good when I can see her Wise One?"_

"_I will lead you to her whenever you wish to go, but keep in mind that I will be watching you."_

"_Can we make the visit tonight? Sorry to rush you Genesis, but Larissa plans to fight Rufus and his SOLDEIR army by this Friday, which is in two days. Is there any way you can give me the G cells now so I can work on them?"_

"_Larissa plans to fight them? What would that accomplish?"_

"_Rufus is the one who started this whole thing. He wants to control her for his own use and energy, so she decided to fight back as any person would do."_

"_It seems Larissa and I have much to discuss. Fine, here are my G cells for you to work on Lucrecia. Take good care of them for they are the only ones I have left to offer."_

Genesis took a black leather gloved hand over his heart and withdrew a thick test tube with a green liquid in it. Lucrecia gingerly reached out her white palm and took the cells from him with extra caution.

"_I will treat them with the utmost care I can provide. Thank you."_

"_Yeah whatever, can I see Larissa now?"_

"_You have to be patient Genesis. It would be wise to warn her that someone wishes her presence, especially someone from the Spirit World. I am going to send a message to Larissa first to let her pick where she would like to talk to you. Remember it is completely her decision, we cannot force it." _

The Wise One snapped his wrinkled fingers and a white dove appeared ready to take on the task. He tied a letter to the dove's slim leg with a silver thread then whisked it on its way. Flying out of the portal to enter the real world, the dove found Larissa meditating inside the church since Cloud was called away on another errand. The pure dove landed light as the feathers on its own body on her milk white hand. Opening one black eye she saw the dove with confusion etched around the corners of her mouth.

Seeing the piece of fine paper attached to the dove's leg, she removed it with ease and found scrolled in elegant manuscript:

_Dear Larissa,_

_This is one of the Wise Men in the Spirit World sending you this message of importance. There is a spirit that wishes to speak to you and we would like to know if you grant him an audience. Please send this letter back with your answer in full detail, and I would like to inform you that if you do decide to talk to him that I will be there to supervise it. We do not want any suspicious activity going on while he is visiting._

_Sincerely, the Wise One_

"_A spirit wishes to speak to me and he's male? Well I have nothing else to do today, so I might as well see what he wants,"_ Larissa thought as she wrote on the back of the note to come to the church in Midgar for them to have their meeting. When she sent the dove away to deliver the message she continued to close out her mind to the world as a stress free exercise. The other reason for this kind of solitude was to remind herself who she was and why she was there in the first place. It kept her soul whole and healthy by bonding with it regularly.

The dove flew gracefully back into the Wise One's open palm with the letter tied to his leg again. He unrolled the message and fought back surprise at Larissa's answer as he traced his eyes over the letter twice.

"_It seems Genesis that this is your lucky day. Larissa would like to meet you in the church where she is right now. Are you ready to leave?"_

"_Yes let's go."_

With a flick of his wrist, the Wise One opened a portal to the church so they could go and meet her as planned. Larissa became fully alert once she saw the new ray of light coming from the ceiling. Rising from the floor by the flower bed, Larissa straightened herself for the newcomer's arrival. She looked casually at the light red frame of a man float down to her level along with an aged man carrying a golden rod for security reasons. The light red frame dissolved to reveal Genesis landing marvelously on the hard wooden floor of the broken church. Larissa had to flash her dark eyes to make sure she was not seeing things out of context.

"I never thought I would see you ever again after you disappeared in the Wutai war. What brings you here?"

"_I have come to discuss what you are going to do about this Planet. It is in shambles."_

"What do you mean it is in shambles? As far as I know it is doing pretty well under the circumstances. It's only Rufus and his SOLDIER's that are causing problems, which does not seem logical. He never used to be power hungry ever since he became president of his company. I wonder if he is being possessed by something."

"_That could be a possibility, but why do you continue to live among these ignorant humans? If you form with me then maybe we could make sense of this world or make a new one." _

"So that is why you are here Genesis, to take advantage of me. Well you are out of luck just like Sephiroth. No one will have me besides myself. Maybe that is why you are stuck in Limbo; the Gods do not know where to put you because of the surprises that come from your being."

"_You really cannot blame a spirit for trying can you? Why do you continue to live in a world with so many flaws? There is still hope of creating an ideal race that can be ours to control."_

"That is where you are wrong Genesis. There is no ideal race because if there were then they would all be like me. I was made from Hojo to be the perfect race for human kind, but look at me now. I am in disrepair and there is nothing that can be done about it. People like us should not exist for we only cause more destruction and heartache."

"_How can you say that?! What has happened to you Larissa, you used to want to take revenge on this Planet to teach it a lesson. Now you just want to leave it in peace!"_

"That is because I have met people who are not all criminals. They helped me see the light that this world has to offer and I would never corrupt it for a petty victory. Why destroy the whole planet when you can eliminate the parts that are causing the problems? Besides I cannot believe you have not noticed how well our kind has been doing. Look at us Genesis, we are all dead."

"_Not all of us our dead. You can still carry our dreams. Merge with me and we can call on Omega to do the rest."_

"You really have lost your mind to those G cells. Do you honestly know what Omega Weapon would do?! It kills everything and everyone in its path including us, and then it crumbles the Planet into dust. Our existence would be over along with the original human race. That is why I am so surprised this Planet has lived as long as it has with us thwarting its plans to survive. Here let me rattle a list of the people who have tried to accomplish this absurd task: Weiss, Azul, Rosso, Nero, Hojo, Sephiroth, you, Hollander and who knows who else. And where are they all now, dead! After we are all gone from this Planet it will be able to breath and I am no exception."

"_Wow, I never really counted how many of our people have failed. But why does this plan keep bombarding my mind?"_

"Because we were made by mad scientists who thought it would be wonderful to see the Planet shatter under their hand. We are just tools to them, which might be a reason why Sephiroth went insane. No human being should be experimented on for anything. We are full proof of that."

"_Yes I suppose your right. Do you think I will ever be out of Limbo?"_

"That I do not know Genesis. In fact I might be your room mate in there before too long or condemned to Hell."

"_If that happens I hope you do not mind if I join you."_

At this they both laughed heartily at their own fate while enjoying the bright sunshine coming from the natural sky light.

"_I guess I will leave you now Larissa, you have given me much to think about while I wait. I wish you the best of luck against those SOLDIERs."_

"Thank you and Genesis…You are an honorable man who would have turned out just fine if only those scientists had not gotten in the way. We all would have, please take care and find your light. It might be just the thing to take you out of Limbo, so you can join Angeal."

Genesis floated closer to Larissa to stare deep into her black hole for eyes and saw the light she was talking about. It was embedded deep in her soul where it was just itching to be set free.

"_You have endured so much on your own Larissa; I admire you all the more for your strength." _

He placed his hands on her shoulders then and gave her a light kiss on the cheek before he went back to the portal to depart for the Spirit World. A little stunned by his action she only watched him fly away with a small smile hidden underneath his firm gaze upon her. Once he was gone, Larissa could not help but smile herself while repositioning herself back onto the floor to meditate for a while longer before turning in.

In a makeshift laboratory on the other side of the Spirit World was Lucrecia working with the G cells that Genesis had given her not too long ago. They were very easy to work with and growing at a quick pace to Lucrecia's satisfaction. Soon they will double in size for Larissa to use for one last transformation. After this there will be nothing left to save her from anything else thrown her way. Hopefully the G cells will last for a while.

"_Yes, these G cells will empower Larissa to do great things. I just hope they will be ready by this Friday." _

Working endlessly in the laboratory made Lucrecia happy as Friday quickly approached for another battle against Shinra and Avalanche, may the rightful people win.


	26. Larissa vs SOLDIER:Battle Two

Larissa walked into 7th Heaven bright that Friday morning to find all of the Turks sitting at the counter eating an early breakfast. Vincent materialized from the shadows of the far corner of the diner to great her with a confident smile. Cloud of course was seated by the door waiting patiently for Larissa's entrance to see what they would need to do next. The rest of Avalanche came out of their bedrooms to prepare their weapons for the battle that they longed for.

Her twilight eyes scanned everyone with gratitude as she took a seat next to Cloud this time with new confidence in herself. "Morning all, did you sleep well," she says with the familiar voice of her soul speaking out to the public. It was pleasant and optimistic, music to Cloud's ears in fact. Everyone in the diner nodded their approval of this new transition in her appearance. It seemed her madness had subsided for now until the battle started.

"What is the plan supposed to be Tseng?" she asks excitedly.

"They are coming from the Shinra building to merge in the middle of Midgar and then from there on to 7th Heaven where we are right now. I suggest we attack them once they come into view from here," Tseng says while feeling the same emotion Larissa felt at this moment.

"That is an excellent idea. Ok as for everyone else just position yourself where you think is best. Marlene, Denzel, Maddox, I would like it if you stayed in 7th Heaven underneath the countertop. You do not need to see this battle or draw their attention away from us. Do I make myself clear?" At this she eyed Maddox for a minute before looking to the rest of the group for their input. They strongly agreed to the plan and readied their weapons to pass the time until the soldiers arrived.

Off into the distance came the mechanical footsteps of SOLDIER coming toward 7th Heaven from all sides. All of the top ranks of the army were involved since Deepground no longer existed thanks to Vincent and the WRO. Speaking of WRO, Reeves was already in position to capture Rufus from the fight to hold hostage until Larissa could negotiate with him.

Larissa perked up when she heard them approaching at a moderate pace, trying to surround every exit to the diner. "They are here," says Larissa, "prepare yourselves for this and do not take them lightly. Just because they are dying slowly does not mean it will be easy to destroy them in one swing. These specimens could explode or go berserk once they reach their final stages of death. Keep watch and protect each other. Alright let's finish this war between Shinra."

"Hey um Larissa… do you mind if Kane helps us out too? He is a really skilled ninja like me and could be useful," pipes up Yuffie before they leave to fight.

"Sure I do not care if he does or not. Anyone else want to join us?"

"I do," says Maverick from behind the children with a loaded revolver ready at his disposal.

"And why do you intend to fight Shinra Maverick?" asks Larissa casually.

"Because I feel they have wronged you and the world with SOLDIER. And I want to protect innocent people from their corruption." Maverick glanced at Tifa when he said this, but only for a second before he eyed Larissa with a passion to fight.

"So be it Maverick."

Larissa walked past him to see the soldiers advancing to the middle of the Midgar Plaza with guns cocked and swords drawn for the first strike. They stopped in the middle while one man from the 1st Class came forward and yelled, "Larissa, we have you surrounded! Come out and surrender yourself to us or face the pain of our artillery."

Larissa walked out of the front doors to meet the young man and said, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I surrender to the likes of you. Prepare to battle your best for this will be your last."

She drew forward her Masamune of white and stood in position to take on the 3rd Class soldiers that were in the front line. Everyone inside 7th Heaven came outside this time and took their positions to take on Shinra in all its glory, which did not amount to very much these days.

"Fine die under our hand, we don't care," says the 1st Class while running back to his post in the back of the mob of men. Drawing back her sword hilt to her ear she began the war with a swift thrust through one of the soldier's gut, spilling his organs all over the street. He fell instantly along with many other men in her way. Cloud came next with his Buster Sword and started to tear into infested men while Vincent flew into the air to make some aerial attacks. Barret decided to take the left side while Cid took the right with his trusty spear. The Turks took up the middle to help Larissa out with their guns of misery as it made a deafening crack in the bright morning air. Since Rude and Tifa were in martial arts, they teamed up together to crush some bones as Nanaki charged the soldier's with his Rush attack. Yuffie teamed up with her new romance Kane and together they went berserk with their Shuriken blades flying across the battlefield in accurate precision.

The 3rd Class soldiers were challenging to Larissa as she noticed her strength depleting and fast. She decided it was time to draw her wing out for more power when she noticed that it would not open, it was completely in disrepair. Cursing under her breath she continued onward, not wanting the soldiers to discover her weakness.

Up above Aeris, Zack, Angeal, and Genesis were watching the battle and its progress. Genesis was the first one to see that Larissa was loosing speed in her graceful limbs; even her reflexes were fading into dull blows to the chest or head of a soldier.

"_Where is Lucrecia? She should be here by now with the G cells. Doesn't she see how important this is?"_

"_I am sure she is on her way,"_ reassures Aeris to Genesis's inquiry of her whereabouts, yet she was not convinced by her own words and he knew it.

After about thirty minutes into the battle Lucrecia comes running from the dense fog to the others with a green tube in her hand.

"_The G cells are ready everyone! Now how do I give them to her?"_

"_Let me have them Lucrecia, I will throw them into her chest for her to absorb. It is only proper since they came from me."_

Lucrecia hesitated at first but yielded to his request and gave the G cells to him, hoping he would be true to his word. Pulling out a makeshift slingshot from under his dark red cloak, Genesis places the tube in the middle of the taunt rubber band and fires.

From down below Cloud could sense that Larissa was loosing her will power to fight any longer and they just made it to the 2nd Class of SOLDEIR. He came up behind her and said, "Don't worry Larissa I have your back. We are almost there."

"Yeah I'm fine," she wheezes out in response.

Cloud looked up at the sky then and heard an unexpected whistling sound coming toward them. It seems Genesis's aim was true when he released the G cells a few seconds ago. Seeing the object in full view to be a green test tube he yells, "Larissa watch out!"

But it was too late. The test tube entered into her transparent flesh, yet it did not have a negative affect like Cloud thought it would. Instead everyone ceased their fighting to witness the transformation. When the lime green test tube entered her body it began to spread to other regions that gave her skin a new white glossy finish. Her muscles were covered again by this new skin and her wing came out on the left side instead of the right. Apparently Hojo put the wing on the wrong side, but it still did not make a real significant difference where the wing should be. It came out in full bloom with new clear feathers of the finest touch. The light honey hair that cascaded down her back started to turn white to the public's alarm. Even her black eyes were given a color of a really bright turquoise.

Feeling the power surge through her being she felt rejuvenated once again by the Heaven's above and whispered, "Thank you Genesis."

He smiled again when he heard this and sat down on the grey floor to watch the onslaught of Shinra soldiers loosing to Larissa and her party. She sheathed her Masamune then and drew on the new magic that flowed from her hands. All the soldiers did not know what to do with this new wave of immense energy, so they continued to charge forward, completely oblivious of what was going to happen next.

Laughing merrily Larissa placed both of her hands in front of her and says, "Threads of Light!" The spell was cast to reveal actual threads of some form of Holy coming through her hands to steal away the souls of the diseased soldiers. It traveled at a speeding pace, tearing into the flesh of screaming soldiers that fell to the ground in acid heaps. Tifa stopped to observe the scenery around her and saw that the soldiers were indeed infested with Jenova cells, for when they died their remaining blood vessels continued to pop like bubble wrap. Then it left a repulsive odor in the air as living proof a war was going on in the streets. Tifa also noticed Maverick was fighting with all his might at the charging soldiers and decided to help him since Rude teamed up with Reno to assist Elena and Tseng in the front.

"What are you doing over here Tifa? Aren't you supposed to be with Rude and the other Turks?" asks Maverick as a bullet entered another victim.

"Well they went to the front of the line to help Larissa, so I thought I could help you out," she says kindly.

"Thanks I really appreciate it."

After a few moments of fighting Maverick sums up the courage to ask, "Tifa, do you have a boyfriend?"

"A boyfriend?" at that moment she glances over at Cloud right by Larissa's side with Vincent not too far behind.

"Uh, no why do you ask."

"Well I was just wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me after this is all over. I am sure you are tired of cooking for everyone else and I know this great Italian restaurant across town. Will you join me, please say yes."

Tifa looked into his charming hazel eyes and his handsome smile and said without hesitation, "That sounds like fun Maverick. Sure I will join you."

"Excellent, oh I can't wait!"

In the distance where they stood another spell was being cast by Larissa that formed huge halos that killed hundreds of men in one blow. Several of them fell one after the other that eliminated about half of the army. "Damn! did you see that?" exclaims Barret. "Her new powers are killing everyone in site, this war is gonna be over before we know it."

"Yeah I thank the Heaven's for doing this, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy sending these bastards to Hell for what they've done," cries Cid after his spear tore open another man destined to die. Yuffie and Kane were doing a splendid job on the right flank of the army with their keen ninja skills. Although this dispute between them was raging, Reeves finally made it to the top of the Shinra tower and found Rufus sitting in his office chair watching the battle like it was a TV show.

"Rufus?" inquires Reeves as he cautiously makes his way toward the black leather chair that did not make a sound upon his entrance. There was still no reply from him, even though he could sense that Reeves was in the room. Quietly he draws out a sleek pair of handcuffs to put on Rufus's hands so he would not escape. They made a soft clicking sound around his slender wrists that did nothing to Rufus's knowledge of being held captive in his own office.

All Reeves could hear from his odd whispering was, "How can this be?! I don't understand. Where did all of that massive energy come from?"

Boldly Reeves asked, "Rufus are you feeling alright? You sound like you are in some kind of trance."

Rufus continued to look out of the window in a disturbed silence that filled the office pretty quickly. Reeves decided to investigate Rufus's bizarre behavior by inspecting him from the side since his eyes were practically glued to the battle happening below. He made his way around the desk and saw that some of the roots of Rufus's hair were silver. Fully alert now, Reeves peered at Rufus's eyes and saw that they were a bright turquoise color similar to Sephiroth's.

"_He is being possessed by Sephiroth?! Now what am I going to do? I guess I will just have to wait for Larissa before I can do anything else,"_ thinks Reeves while monitoring Rufus's actions for any other strange violent behavior. 

Among the battlefield Larissa killed hundreds of men in a matter of thirty minutes with her new awesome power of white magic. Infested bodies lay strewn all over Midgar Plaza with their blood vessels still exploding with milky white mucus overflowing from the source. Avalanche was appalled by the number of soldiers who were manipulated into thinking they were heroes of the world by joining Shinra. Larissa continued to walk past all of them toward the 1st Class SOLDIER rank that remained. For an instant it reminded Cloud of how Sephiroth looked when he burned Nibelhiem to the ground out of pure loathing of the human race. But instead it was Larissa walking through a sea of blood intermingled with Jenova cells toward her main goal of destroying them all.

Her once fresh white robes were now painted in red from the splatter of the soldier's body fluids. As Larissa walked she made sure to crunch on any remaining cells that might still be alive to harm others. Blade drawn again from her onyx sheath she says menacingly to 1st Class, "Are you terrorized yet because you should be." The illuminating glow of her new turquoise eyes made some of the soldier's flinch while some of them shied away from the front line. Cloud was about to take position by her side like before, but Larissa held up a hand to stop him from advancing.

All the others cease to move to watch Larissa place the blade flat against her body while chanting an incantation that is unrecognizable to the public. No one could exactly remember how the battle ended because everyone told a different story when people would inquire about the event. The hidden truth behind it is that Larissa released a blinding spell of light that covered the rest of the SOLDIER's forces like a white blanket of snow. Once the fragile looking blanket touched the men's skin, they automatically began to scream in agony when it began to melt off into pools of colored liquid.

After the light transpired over them, all that was left were their uniforms drenched in their blood and bones. Tifa gasped in horror at the sight and without thinking buried her face in Maverick's shoulder, who accepted the invitation with no complaints. Yuffie clung to Kane at the same time Tifa turned to Maverick for support. Larissa did not even stop to witness her handy work as she looked up at the window to Rufus's office to see turquoise eyes instead of pale blue ones studying her intently.

Going by her gut instincts she immediately took flight toward Shinra to try and save Rufus from Sephirtoh's corruption. Floating slowly in front of the window of his office she signaled for Reeves to back away while she held her sword up high over her head. With one effortless downward swing she broke the glass to let herself in. Avalanche watched speechless at this from below, but could not trigger the action to follow her there.

"What do you think you are doing Sephiroth? I see you have sunk to a pretty low level to take control of Rufus for SOLDIER troops. Tell me, how does it feel to loose once again?" Larissa asks with a wide evil smirk on her face that curled slightly at the corners of her mouth.

The mirrored eyes of her own looked back at her with malice that appeared to be aimed at his stupidity instead of at her in general. Nothing could be hidden from her once she saw Sephiroth's expression through Rufus's figure. Sighing she says to him, "If only you were kept in the dark, then maybe we could have been better friends."

His eyes sparked to life at her words that showed aqua brilliance of hope. Lowering her devilish smile to a friendlier one she says, "Now is not the time for us to meet. All I can say is that our suffering will be ending soon just wait a little bit longer."

In Rufus's office Larissa sunk her hand into his chest and withdrew Sephiroth's spirit or one of them and sliced it in half with her piercing steel sword until it faded away into the reeked air of death. When the spirit left Rufus, he fell back in his black leather chair like a zombie until Larissa splashed some water on his face to try and wake him up. His pale blue eyes flew back to life as he saw Larissa in her new form. Rufus glazed at her with awe at how much she had changed since last year, to him her beauty had enhanced because of her piercing turquoise eyes and the white flowing hair that lay neatly on top of her head. He was so engrossed in her appearance that he did not even notice the crimson stains that decorated the ends of her cloak.

"Larissa… is that really you? What happened, I don't remember a thing. A few days ago I was sitting in my office until a really cold breeze entered the room. All I can recall from there was these menacing greenish turquoise eyes looking straight at me out of thin air," says Rufus softly.

Reeves remained silent throughout the whole scene playing in front of him like a disturbing movie that no one really wanted to finish, but could not help watching because of pure curiosity.

"You were being possessed by Sephiroth to attack me, which is something completely out of character for you if you ask me. Even though you wanted to harvest my power to help the Planet, I have to do that myself. Oh and by the way, all of SOLDIER is diminished. I no longer want to hear or see anymore men in uniforms such as those. If you want to aid the Planet you should be with Reeves in WRO and abandon your company. This Shinra building would be a wonderful location for a new WRO Headquarters. Will you do it?" says Larissa calmly.

Rufus had to blink a few times to fully understand what Larissa was suggesting. He finally replied, "I think that would be for the best Larissa, but what about the Turks?"

"They will stay as they are. Everyone needs a force that can do the dirty work undetected. I think you and Reeves have many things to discuss about WRO, so I am going back down below to try and clean up the mess. Call if you need anything."

With a blast from her wing she flew out of the window to everyone's astonishment and landed gracefully among the crowd. Cloud was the first one to run to her and ask, "What was going on in Rufus's office? Is everything okay?"

Smiling her most loving smile that people thought was gone forever she says, "I just got Rufus to change his Shinra building into a new headquarters for the WRO. Our dream to see the Shinra Corporation demolished is coming true at last. He will no longer have a business of his own; instead he will work with Reeves to serve the world."

The townspeople all hollered and yelled for joy at the news and immediately scattered to tell other people about it from all over the world. Yuffie and Kane kissed when they heard the report while Tifa hugged Maverick real tightly out of happiness. Cloud looked dumbstruck at such an accomplishment that was taking them years when Larissa just did it in about ten minutes. Reno kissed Elena hard as Rude kissed Trish except more gently. Tseng came to meet Larissa and they gave each other high fives for a job well done. Vincent even showed off his little smile of delight when the news reached his ears once he landed beside Larissa.

"Alright that son of a bitch finally caved in. So what do we do now?" asks Barret.

"Well after we clean up here how about we all celebrate at 7th Heaven?" suggests Larissa while using her magic to dispose the bodies much quicker.

The gang definitely agreed with her on that one and hastily went to work to make Midgar clean again. Once all of the bodies and blood were wiped clean off of the streets, they all had a wonderful party at the diner with everyone they knew. It lasted throughout most of the night and into the early hours of the morning. When everyone finally went to sleep she went to the memory recorder and decided to put this one on her tape. This day was definitely worth remembering.


	27. Finding Each Other

/After the battle was won by Avalanche and Larissa, everyone became more jubilant than ever before. Maybe it was the fact that the world was really beginning to heal itself for the first time without any interruptions. Construction on the old decaying Shinra Corporation building in the distance went under way immediately. Of course Reeves was in charge of the operation with Rufus to insure the success of the new WRO Headquarters. It caused quite a stir to where many people from other cities all over the globe came to enlist their help in building the skyscraper faster. Larissa watched in merriment from the top of 7th Heaven at the rapid progress they were making in just a few weeks.

In the distance a tattered black cape swished in the wind from the back of a motorcycle coming from Edge. Vincent slipped off the bike to discover Larissa on the roof and decided to join her view of the WRO's work. "I have never seen you so happy before Larissa, you must like what you see," he says happily.

She turned her head in the direction of Vincent's voice and smiled, a smile so vibrant that Vincent could tell that it was contagious for he found himself doing the same thing. "I absolutely love what I see. How was Edge?"

"Pretty good, the kids are still stealing from the stores but not as bad as before. We are trying to rebuild that town as best as we can with what we have. It is basically our on going project since Midgar is running smoothly for the most part."

"That's wonderful. I am sure the townspeople of those slums will appreciate it once it's finished."

"Yeah I think they will too."

A peaceful silence enveloped them while they sat on the roof to watch the movement of human life passing them by on the overly crowded streets. Down below Larissa witnessed Tifa coming out of the diner to greet Maverick with a hug that looked more than friendly from her point of view.

"So, Tifa and Maverick are an item now?"

"Apparently, I heard from Yuffie that they hooked up after the battle with SOLDEIR."

"Does Cloud know about it?"

"Yeah he even encouraged them to stay together. You should know his mind is elsewhere at the moment."

"Oh I know it, he is just like you."

Vincent could not hold back a small laugh in the back of his throat at this remark, but knew it to be true. They had grown really close over the past two or three years, practically like brothers. In any case they knew that if they stayed together then maybe they would be able to survive anything like an invincible force.

"I am glad that you two have each other Vincent," says Larissa after a long pause. "It reassures me to know that you both have someone to rely on."

"Yeah I really like the feeling. I am just happy that we can finally live a life together without any more chaotic episodes."

"Ha, you should be smart enough to know that Sephiroth is not going to just disappear just because we took out a few men from Shinra. No it goes deeper than that."

"I doubt he will come back now that he has nothing else to come back to."

"You are forgetting one thing Vincent. Because you are blinding yourself with a perfect image that is nonexistent, he still has me to come back to."

"Like that's going to happen. Larissa we all know he is not going to come crawling to you when he knows damn well you will never accept his way of life. If you ask me we have nothing to worry about."

"You are right Vincent, we as in Avalanche and the rest of the world do have nothing to worry about, but I do. And did anyone every think that if someone did accept him as a human instead of a monster that he would release himself from this world? You all seem to be able to accept me the way I am, why not him too."

"It would not be that simple Larissa."

"Yes it would if given a chance. I would have ended up in the same position as Sephiroth if not for kind human beings looking at me as one of them instead of an alien. It might have saved Genesis and Angeal too. I miss them terribly along with Zack; we were a good team until the truth started to reveal itself. This grudge that the world has against him should have died a long time ago, and then he might have gone to rest."

"Maybe, but what are you implying?"

"I plan to set him free like I was meant to. When I saw his eyes looking out of Rufus's body all I saw was anguish and sorrow. It reminded me of how I felt when I was held captive inside that green tank in the laboratory. I still have that lingering feeling sometimes; it's probably because I am still connected to him from the experiment. Anyway my point is that no one should have to suffer if it is not necessary anymore. Seeking redemption for one's sins is the best act a person can do to make a lost distorted soul flow on to the afterlife. I think it is worth a try."

"And how do you plan to do this?"

"Well that is something of a secret for me. I just know it is not time yet to do the deed. Sorry Vincent but you will just have to wait until the time is right."

Laughing softly he says, "Of course Larissa."

Another peaceful silence passed until Larissa asked, "Vincent, if I were to disappear all of a sudden what would you do for the rest of your life?"

Vincent sat up straighter at this question and felt uneasy by the sudden change of events. The question seemed so out of character from their happy surroundings of an overwhelming city.

Starting out slowly he answered cautiously, "I would be in complete misery for month's maybe even years. Still if our connection stays strong, then I should be able to hear your voice telling me to stay within the light. If that should happen I know I will be ok."

"It will I promise," Larissa says in a soft satisfaction that gave Vincent the impression that what she asked could be a possibility.

Before Vincent could question her further someone from below yelled, "There you guys are, I have been looking everywhere for you."

Larissa was the first to look down and see Cloud's beaming face that reminded her so much of the sun and the sky. "Hey Cloud what's going on?" asks Larissa delightfully.

"Oh nothing I can't handle, but Larissa do you plan on going to the church anytime soon? I just saw the flowers the other day and they look beautiful, so luminous and elegant." _"Just like you are," _Cloud thought.

Larissa was about to answer Cloud when Yuffie came running out of her materia shop yelling, "Vinnie! Vinnie where are you?"

Vincent's eyes became fierce when he calls to her, "I thought I told you to stop calling me that Yuffie, it's embarrassing. Ever since you have called me by that name other girls think its ok too."

Laughing in her own girly way Yuffie replies, "Sorry Vincent I just can't help myself. It's such a cute name to call you. Anyway Tifa wanted me to give you this slip. It looks like some kind of work order or something; it says Kalm on it too. Maybe she wants you to go there. And Cloud needs to go too."

Floating off of the roof of 7th Heaven he joins Yuffie to examine the piece of yellow paper for himself. Sometimes she would play games with him and send Vincent on this wild treasure hunt for an item she wanted, but was too lazy to do it herself.

Sighing lightly he says to Larissa, "Sorry but I have to go to Kalm. I will be back later and we will continue where we left off. See you tonight." Vincent takes his golden claw to pull his cape around him and leaves for his motorcycle parked right next to Cloud's.

A huge roar could be heard from the exhaust as Vincent and Cloud tore out of Midgar for Kalm just a few miles away. Sighing herself she decides to go inside the church to see the flowers.

Walking silently through the crowd of people, Larissa could feel all of the noise draining from her surroundings as the church came into view. She placed her clean white hand on the rustic door knob and allowed herself inside.

Bright light flooded from the open door that blinded Larissa for only a few seconds. Once her turquoise eyes adjusted to it, she saw the flowers glowing brilliantly from the center to light up every corner of the church. At the sight she smiled warmly while strolling toward them to examine their beauty.

Bending down to take in their sweet fragrance, Larissa heard a small creak in the floor boards that were not made by her own feet. Turning sharply around with her hand on her sword, she found Zack emerging from the wall with a wide grin.

"_Wow, look at you Larissa. I have never seen a happier person. It reminds me of how we met in the Training Room. Such a smile I will never forget."_

Relaxing her taunt muscles, Larissa flashed her most charming smile and says, "Yeah I can remember that like it was yesterday. How could I not be happy? Everything is right on schedule and the flowers are living proof of it."

"_You're probably right, I haven't seen these flowers glow this much since Aeris and I were alive. So how are those G cells working out for you?" _

"Wonderful. I just wish that Genesis did not have to go back into Limbo. I heard that Angeal is being moved out of it into a new position of some sort. I think he will be happier that way."

"_Yeah I got the same information. He seemed happy about it when he came to visit me the other day. I'm glad he will be alright. What do you think will happen to Sephiroth?" _

"I predict he will face the same fate as Genesis. I think they will imprison him somewhere for the rest of his life. He has caused too much of a disturbance on this earth to be anywhere else."

"_That might be for the best, and what about you?"_

Chuckling softly she says, "Why do you guys keep asking that question? As of right now it remains a mystery even to me. We will just have to wait and see. Do you see something I need to know about?"

"_Well that's just the thing, I can't see anything. Sometimes when we look into someone's future we have an idea of what is to come, yet yours is all buried in fog. Aeris and I don't know what to expect."_

"You and Aeris should not worry about such things. Besides I think it is for the better to have my future clouded. I would rather not know what is coming in the next month or so."

"_You must have some idea Larissa."_

"On the contrary I really don't know. I am not too concerned about it."

Laughing Zack came closer to stand with Larissa by the radiating flower bed.

"_I heard a cry from someone not too long ago that your spirit is asleep. Is this true and what will it take to wake it up?" _

Silence filled the tiny space between them until she finally responded with, "Yes I guess you can say that my spirit is asleep, my real one that is. I have discovered that the being that inhabits me right now is a substitute Hojo made up for me. I think that is why I was having so many problems because my real one was trying to break free of its bonds. How to wake it up I have no idea, maybe it will come back once I die. Who knows Sephiroth might be the key too."

"_That man, there has be to another way."_

"Well if you think of any just let me know."

"_Ok, I'll do that." _

They continued to stand to enjoy the view of the church itself. After a few minutes a deafening cold wind unusual for this kind of weather swept through the pews, causing little icicles to form on the edges. The ice continued to frost over to the floor and stopped right at the broken floor boards where the flower bed was located.

"_What is this?!" _

"Something is coming from the Underworld, which is why everything is covered in a thin layer of ice. Let's wait and see what happens."

Zack drew his old sword that came with his 1st class SOLDEIR uniform and readied himself to protect Larissa at all costs. Emerging from the ground a few feet away from the brightly lit flowers came a distorted figure of a man with a black wing dressed in a black cloak. In an instant Larissa knew it to be Sephiroth coming for a visit, which surprised her a great deal. Zack raised his guard up to maximum volume as he saw the man who sent the world through a living hell and still was. Sephiroth's eyes flickered into focus once he came out of the floor in full height, flexing his wing tenderly as if he were in pain.

"_I have found you Larissa, Zack step aside," _Sephiroth whispers casually.

"_Ha, what makes you think I am going to leave Larissa exposed to someone like you? I am staying put whether you like it or not." _

"Zack it's alright, I can take care of myself. I can see that Sephiroth has many things he would like to discuss with me alone. Go on back, I will be just fine."

Studying Larissa's face, she lightly motioned with her hand at the back wall of the church and Zack did not need the hint twice to know what to do.

"_Ok, but you ought to know before I leave you that I am not too thrilled on this idea." _

Zack reluctantly steps away from Larissa and makes his way toward the back wall, looking at Sephiroth the whole time as he passes. As Zack disappeared Larissa promptly asked, "So what brings someone like you to a place like this? I have to admit I am quite surprised by this unexpected visit."

His eyes peered into Larissa's new turquoise ones before replying as if he was trying to find some answers to his future inside her being. Clearing his hollow throat he says, _"I have come to talk to you about the Reunion. The date is fast approaching in less than two weeks from today."_

"A Reunion, is that really necessary? There is no one left but us for this event, so why even have one in the first place. It's pointless."

"_Well we are going to have one, you and I. The reason behind it does not matter as long as we go to it together."_

"Sephiroth you should know that this Reunion will not save you and it definitely will not save me from our fate. If we go to the Reunion, it marks the end of our journey."

"_Damn, why does it have to be this way?"_

"Stop talking like a child, it irritates me. I am ready to give this life up aren't you?"

"_Yes and no. Everything is so out of focus."_

"Ha, you are telling me. Ever since we were created to do the tasks they assigned us, they knew before hand that we would struggle through their mistakes." 

Silence flowed through the little church from Larissa's last comment until Sephiroth ran forward and reached out desperately to touch her body. Too late to stop him, he wrapped his arms around her legs as he fell to the floor crying, _"Larissa you will be there won't you? Please do not make me go on alone. I need you!" _

Clear tears ran down his face as he said these words to Larissa's astonishment. Then she knelt down to look at Sephiroth deep in his fading turquoise eyes and knew that he was actually being sincere. Trembling he says, _"I know I have done horrible things to you like deception and rape, but you must believe me now. I had to make this visit because I have finally found myself and I want to share it with you. These tears you see are true to their word and affect. Please, please tell me you will be by my side until the end." _

Larissa took her soft hand and wiped away his overflowing droplets of grief, so she could give him an affectionate hug. Whispering in his ear she says, "I will be there to see you through. Seeing you cry pains me greatly, please try to dry your sorrow. I promise that we will go together."

Clinging to Larissa tightly he says, _"Thank you Larissa. You will not regret your decision to help me this time. You have my word if that means anything to you now." _

"I think your word has gained some value."

She smiled to try and cheer him up as she pulled him away. Through his rain of tears he smiled back with all the strength he could muster, which formed a human quality of gratitude toward his situation. From the smile came his fingers tracing the outline of Larissa's strong jaw line to the curves of her angelic face. They passed over her high cheekbones and ended at her well proportioned lips of a rosy pink color. Sephiroth's fingers playfully tapped on them as he drew closer. Using that same hand he inclines his head slightly as if to kiss her.

Their eyes locked as he lightly licked his lips to hint at Larissa what he meant to do. Parting them for preparation, he leans in and kisses her softly… at first. Larissa did not know how to react to this until she decided to kiss him back, for what else was she supposed to do?

When Sephiroth felt that she was not going to resist him, he kissed her a little harder for dramatic affect. Larissa took it as a deep affection for their bond and was the first to pull away to see pale green eyes staring back at her instead of his Mako energy ones.

"Your eyes, there green!" Larissa exclaims.

"_What, there green?!" _

"Here look in the reflection of the ice."

Sephiroth looked down to see that his eyes were indeed a light green color that he admired more than the original. Looking back up to face Larissa he saw that her eyes had changed to a clear gray close to silver.

"_Your eyes have changed color too. What does this mean?" _

"I think we have found each other at last, spiritually speaking. Hmm maybe the Reunion will not be such a waste of time after all."

Before Sephiroth could reply to her joy, a dark black vine started to sprout from the ice to take him away. He cried out in a panic to see the vine slithering around his arms and legs, dragging him away from Larissa's warmth. She tried to cut them loose around his body, but failed because they would only split off into more pieces to tie him down with.

"_Larissa! it seems I am being called away to some unknown land of darkness. Please be at the Reunion,"_ he pleaded.

"I will."

That was all Larissa could say before he disappeared in a black hole from the floor, which melted all the ice away after he was gone. Zack came out once Sephiroth was gone and said, _"There is to be a Reunion? Count on Aeris and me to be there for support on your behalf. Larissa, are you ok?" _

Larissa still remained on the floor by the flowers but said easily enough to Zack, "Yeah it is just so soon. I thought I had more time."

Zack came forward and wrapped both of his arms around her for comfort and said, _"That's true, but look at what you will be gaining." _

"Freedom," Larissa said with an awed whisper of longing and joy to finally see her goal drawing nearer. Zack took a seat by Larissa on the ground to talk to her for the remainder of the day about anything in general until it was time for her to head back to 7th Heaven.

When she entered to find all her friends eating dinner she joined them gladly and knew that even though she might be giving them up, her freedom was worth the risk.


	28. The Final Reunion

_Two Weeks Later…_

From the day Larissa had met Sephiroth in the church, everything appeared normal for an average Wednesday morning inside 7th Heaven. Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox were all sitting at the counter having their breakfast while Cloud was calculating the sales of both the diner and the delivery service. Larissa sat by him to check his math, which slacked off every now and then. Maverick was of course at the counter flirting with Tifa as she served the customers.

"It's 48.97 Cloud not 48.79. Honestly, I do not know what Tifa's financial records would look like without me helping you along," Larissa says teasingly.

Cloud laughed and continued down the line to total up everything else on the list. "Ok I'm finished. What do you think of my math skills now Larissa?"

He passed the list over to her while placing his arm causally on the back of Larissa's chair. Tifa saw this and still felt a light sting of pain, but pushed it from her mind as she wiped the countertop with Maverick smiling at her the whole time. The front door swung open to allow Vincent inside with Yuffie and her steady boyfriend Kane hand in hand no doubt.

"Good Morning Everyone!" she shouts in greeting to all who would acknowledge her.

"Hey Yuffie, Kane what can I get for you this morning?"

Yuffie rushed to the counter to order their daily breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon with a nice tall class of milk. Vincent took a seat by Larissa's other side to see what they were doing and laughed when he saw all the adjustments Larissa had to make on Cloud's mathematical skills. Larissa laughed along with Vincent and Cloud until she felt this cold chill oozing down her spine.

Instantly she heard inside her mind,_ "Larissa…Larissa. The time has come for the Reunion to begin. Come to me." _

Larissa perked up at the sound of the person's voice, yet could not distinguish the sound to be a man or a woman. Without warning she rose from her seat in a trance like state, her eyes stuck in one hollow expression like a mummy. Cloud and Vincent noticed in alarm and tried to hold her back, but it was no use. All Larissa did was fling their hands aside as if they were dead weight objects holding her down.

"Must go to the Reunion," she said emptily.

"_That's right, come to the Reunion. We are all waiting for your arrival."_

"What Reunion?" asks Cloud bewildered.

He did not receive any response when Larissa opened the wooden swinging door to be let outside. All of Avalanche called out her name to try and wake her up without success. Maddox was the only bold person to leap out at Larissa's legs, for that was all he could touch since she was so much taller than him. Gripping onto them for dear life he cried out to her, "Miss Larissa! Miss Larissa wake up! Where are you going?!"

The only answer Larissa gave to him was a sweet pat on his cheek and a quick run of her fingers through his light brown hair. When Maddox looked up to see her face he saw a tiny tear leak from her eye as she vanished from his grip. The townspeople gasped at her sudden disappearance and some of them even went to investigate where she stood to see if anything was left.

"She said something about a Reunion," says Cloud. "Cid we need to board your airship as quickly as possible."

"Cloud's right, says Vincent, if it is a Reunion then she is heading for the Forgotten City also known as The City of the Ancients. Let's round everyone up and go."

People scrambled all over to find all the people that would be joining them such as the Turks, Rufus, Reeves and the other members of Avalanche of course. Everyone met on the beach by Cid's magnificent airship, even the children were ready to depart with them.

Tifa saw this and said, "Sorry you three but this journey will be way too dangerous. I think we would all feel better if you stayed at the diner until we get back."

Even though the children protested for the whole world to hear, all the adults agreed to keep them here in Midgar.

"Its ok guys we'll be back before you know it," says Cloud reassuringly while ruffling Denzel's hair.

"Fine we'll stay here, but don't think we like what you're doing by leaving us behind," says Maddox grumpily.

They watched the gang load up everything they might need on the trip until Maddox hatched a perfect idea that could not fail if Marlene and Denzel were willing to try it.

"Marlene, Denzel, I have a great idea that can get us onto Cid's airship, but we have to act fast. Follow me and whatever you do keep quiet."

Maddox took Marlene and Denzel's hands to drag them to the back of the ship where the cargo was being loaded onto a ramp. He searched for an extra crate and found some not too far off from where they stood. Dragging them over to the boxes, Maddox tried to lift every single lid of each box to see if they could climb in for the ride. It was not until he came to the last box that he discovered it was open for them to jump in.

Lifting the lid to inspect what they would be traveling in, Maddox found them to be a huge pile of blankets.

"What are blankets doing in a crate?" asks Marlene to Maddox.

"I have no clue, but at least we can travel in comfort. Come on you two, in we go."

Marlene, Denzel, and Maddox all crammed into the crate and closed the lid shut so as to not draw too much attention from onlookers. "Alright this is the last crate we need to load!" shouts Cid to Cloud and Barret.

"Wow this crate sure does feel heaver since the last time we touched it," remarks Cloud while pushing it onto the dolly to roll it back into the airship. Once all the cargo was stored, the airship doors made a rattling sound to warn the hidden children that they were off.

Flying high over Mt. Nibel, everyone looked out of the windows to see if they could see anything suspicious. Off to the north of them Cloud was the first one to sense a power surge of some sort coming from within the earth.

"Hey Vincent did you feel that just now?" asks Cloud

"Yeah it is definitely coming from the Ancient City. How could Larissa not have told us this was coming? Had she no idea of it at all?"

"We didn't know about any of the Reunions until we saw people in black cloaks or the children disappearing with Kadja. I wonder how they call on a Reunion anyway; I have never understood it at all."

"I guess we will find out once we get there. Hey Cid how close are we now?"

Budding out his cigarette on his built in ashtray he says, "We should be there in a few minutes, you guys are just gonna have to wait. Now stop pestering me so I can fly my airship."

A deep sigh came from Shelke as she said, "I am really worried about Larissa. When I left the lab her body was acting strangely like it was being drawn out by some unknown force. Do you think it is being called also by the Reunion?"

"That could be the case Shelke," says Nanaki. "It would seem logical for her body to respond in such a way to the Planet. That is why I have unlocked the cables as well as the tank so her body can leave if it wants to."

Shelke hugged Nanaki tightly before settling on the floor next to him to watch the clouds go by.

In the Forbidden Forest…

Larissa appeared on the outskirts of it to find the forest glowing with fireflies, even though night had not fallen yet. Walking forward, the voice continued to beckon her by saying, _"Almost there Larissa, just a little bit farther. Sephiroth is waiting for you." _

While walking along the path that was lit up for her, she started to see flickers of her true past fly out at her from all sides of the forest. A girl not much younger than 16 ran out in front of Larissa and said, "Look at me now Mother, I have finally completed my training as a warrior for our people. I cannot wait to receive my gunblade, how exciting!"

Before Larissa could reach out to the girl she had dissolved into the white bark that decorated the trees. She then reappeared two years older to reveal a striking woman wearing a silver shirt of crystal armor along with matching gloves and boots that were covering her royal blue pants. A belt with crystal inlays also decorated her slender waist with a sheath to hold her beautifully crafted gunblade. Of course her hair was a glossy light brown color with a mild completion and cool clear gray eyes to make this person complete with beauty and authority.

Off in the distance came a man of broad shoulders with a steel blade by his side looking longingly in the direction of the 18 year old girl. He appeared to be at least 20 and oblivious to his surroundings except the woman standing in front of him. He wore diamond mail instead with leather brown boots over his hunter green pants that hung close to his muscular legs. In a deep crisp voice he says, "Larissa, you look like a goddess straight from the Heavens."

"You flatter me way too much Avian," the woman said back with a little hint of pleasure.

"Still my words ring true for you. Will you come with me on a stroll through the forest?"

"That sounds nice Avian; sure I will walk with you."

Then they both faded away back into the pouring life of the trees again, leaving nothing behind for the present Larissa to see. The rest of her past became a blur as she made her way to the edge of the forest that broke free to reveal the Ancient City that fell so long ago. Outside its crumbling gates stood Sephiroth waiting patiently for Larissa to arrive so they could walk to the Reunion together.

His body trembled uncontrollably by the half collapsed pillar as if he had an intoxicating case of the influenza. Looking through light green eyes now he says shakily, "You have come Larissa. I am so glad and relieved to be in your presence once again."

"I can honestly say that I am thinking the same for you Sephiroth," Larissa says kindly.

Larissa met Sephiroth and beckoned him to take her arm for support as they made their way toward the entrance of the Forgotten City.

"Wow, it is a shame that this magnificent city has gone down so much with the Ancient race completely wiped out," says Larissa sadly.

Sephiroth did not say anything to Larissa's sorrowful remark as he led her to the pool where the white shell resided. Taking a seat by the water, he motioned for her to sit too with a dissolving hand. Larissa did not argue with his request and took her place by his side like it was supposed to be before everything changed.

"So where do we go from here?" asks Sephiroth calmly

Thinking about his question thoroughly before answering she says, "We have to sacrifice ourselves to the Planet."

"What, no we do not! There has to be another way."

"We have run out of options and time. This world has given us no other choice, we must obey. Besides I know we will be much happier once it's over."

"I don't see how you can say that nonchalantly. There has to be another way to survive this."

"If there is one I would certainly like to here it. Do you have some plan to do this that I don't know about Sephiroth?"

They sat in a deadly silence until he finally whispered, "No I do not have anything to offer."

"Then it is settled, we die here as dignified people who have caused this world so much pain and sorrow. I think that is sufficient enough."

"But I don't want to die," he whines to see if this would have any impact on Larissa at all.

"I know and to tell you the truth I don't want to die either, but it is a must."

Larissa took his hand in hers as an impulse and support while they gazed at the forest that decorated their backs. He gladly accepted the kind jester with gratitude and leaned against her shoulder for comfort. The fireflies continued to swarm around them, which made the landscape look like a perfect place for worship or love.

"Come, I think we have idled long enough Sephiroth," says Larissa.

Rising from her seat next to him, she pulls up on his rotting hand to lift Sephiroth to his feet. "Wait, he says, can we say our last goodbye to each other before this deed is done? I would hate to end the way we are now."

Releasing a gentle sigh she says, "Sure Sephiroth we can do that."

But before he could even approach her a deep droning sound came from overhead that sounded like an airship.

"Damn, it looks like Cloud and the others have come to stop us," Larissa says angrily.

"Either that or to watch, how do you intend to do to keep them out?"

"That's easy; I will just put up a barrier to block them. They will be able to hear us, but to do anything will be virtually impossible. The barrier will shatter once we are both dead. Shall we begin?"

From the airship Cloud could see through the floor window a shimmering wall that seemed to barricade some of the Forbidden Forest. "What is that? Vincent, can you tell what that transparent wall is?"

Vincent came to stand by Cloud to see what he was looking at and said gravely, "It is a barrier. It seems Larissa knows we are coming to see them. She just refuses to let us interfere with her on this Reunion of theirs. It's starting to piss me off."

Everyone gathered around to gaze at the barrier forming a dome around the pool in the center of the Ancient City. "Cid I'm getting off right here. I don't care if you stop the airship in time or not," says Cloud while heading for the exit.

"Cloud, are you crazy?! You will get hurt if you do such a reckless thing. Just wait, we are almost there," cries Tifa.

"Don't worry about Cloud, Tifa. I will get him down there safely because I am going too. Let's go Cloud," says Vincent as he walks by to join him at the exit in the back of the airship.

Transforming into Chaos in the middle of the room, Vincent picked up Cloud in his arms and together they flew right out of the trap door that led outside. "Cid we need to hurry after them, says Tseng, Cloud and Vincent are right to take off as they did. Something is going to happen that we will not approve of."

Cid immediately landed the airship a few minutes later and everyone on board filed out like a stampede of bulls, trying to catch up with Cloud and Vincent ahead of them.

Cloud spray from Vincent's grip and approached the barrier with his buster sword drawn. Raising it up high over his head he did a downward swipe that did nothing to the barrier whatsoever. The impact of his blow became so great that his sword counteracted and almost sliced his face off. Vincent walked up to the wall with his claws drawn and tested the barrier with them to see if he could do anything to break it. But to no avail, his claws were shocked back from the pure power that the barrier possessed.

"Damn it! How are we supposed to get in there with this huge dome in the way?" says Cloud agitatedly.

"You don't," says Larissa's voice from the other side of the wall.

"Larissa what is the meaning of this?! Why did you lock us out?" asks Cloud in a panic.

"Because it is for your own good," said Sephiroth from behind Larissa.

"Sephiroth you bastard, I don't know what kind of game you are playing but it will not repair what you have lost," says Vincent with venom.

"I know that," he says calmly by Larissa's side as if it were natural to see them both together like this. Tseng came up next and looked her in the eye and knew what she was about to do.

"Larissa, it can't come down to this," says Tseng with despair. "Please let me help you again."

Larissa took out her hand to touch Tseng's who was leaning against the barrier. Blankly she replies, "There is nothing left that Shrina has to offer me Tseng. We as in Sephiroth and I are at our limits. It is time for us to go."

Tseng tried to cling onto her hand as a tear escaped his dark brown eyes, he did nothing to stop it from dripping down his porcelain face. Everyone witnessed Tseng's sensitive side with wonder because of its simple grace and performance. The action left such an imprint on the gang that it actually left Reno speechless, which shocked the crowd most of all.

In the Spirit World all was present to see what the final decision would be. Even Genesis and Angeal were there with Zack and Aeris. Lucrecia also took a place among the gathering spirits to see the last show.

In the cargo hold of the airship Maddox sprung free of the crate they were storied away in and helped Marlene along with Denzel to escape. Maddox pulled on the release hatch that allowed the door to spring open without a struggle. Running out of the basement of the airship they raced for the barrier where everyone was positioned.

"Miss Larissa, wait!"

The whole group turned around to see Maddox with Marlene and Denzel shortly behind him coming to the barrier with pure confidence.

"How did you kids get here, I thought we left you at the diner," cries Tifa.

"Well Tifa I am not going to miss out on saying goodbye to Miss Larissa and giving her something that I should have given to her a long time ago. It came from a white bird of some sort with a necklace tied to its leg. The villagers did not know what to do with it, so I kept it for save keeping since they wanted to throw it away. Miss Larissa I think it is for you," says Maddox while revealing the necklace to be a tear drop shaped crystal hanging from a silver chain.

He extended his tiny hand out to the barrier with the necklace clasped in his fist. With a wave of Larissa's hand she allowed his to come through. When their hands touched Maddox grabbed hers forward and said through the hole, "Miss Larissa I know this must not be easy on you or anyone else present here, but I just wanted to say thank you for all that you have done for us and for Lycia. And that I love you with all of my heart."

Tears began to stream down Maddox's face as he released her hand, but the barrier remained open to him. She said from her side, "I love you too Maddox and everyone on the other side. This stabbing pain inside my heart is becoming unbearable, yet I know it will be worth it. Please take care of yourselves."

Cloud was about to grab for her, but was too late. The barrier closed itself from any other intruder who wanted to break it. Larissa blew a kiss to each of them and stepped away from the wall to join Sephiroth at the pool.

"Are you ready to begin the Reunion now Sephiroth?"

He turned his melancholy expression toward Larissa and said, "Yes I think I am ready to begin now. But before we do remember we have to say goodbye first."

"I believe that can wait until we are finished. Let's position ourselves for this."

Sephiroth let out a small whine as he came forward to face Larissa by the pool with his hands down by his sides. From where the gang was observing them, Sephiroth looked like a transparent figure from a projector. As for Larissa she appeared well developed, but still lacked the qualities of a human.

Both facing each other Larissa drew out her sword and commanded Sephiroth to do the same. He did reluctantly with a few complaints here and there. The swords were raised to their ears with only one hand. Vincent realized the stance and before they could do anything else he yelled into his mind to reach her, _"Larissa!! I did not know it had come to this extent. Please promise me you will come back!" _

Hearing Vincent's cry she stopped and turned to him and said across the barrier, "That is a promise I cannot keep nor make. I would suggest you block your mind out from me now. This next step will be painful, something you should not have to endure."

Cloud turned to Vincent also to see his reaction and found a true expression of sadness and anguish. Everyone faced back to the scene before them and saw that Larissa, along with Sephiroth, had drawn their swords back as if they were about to throw them at each other. Their eyes locked on target with a full meaning of their intention to set themselves free. Larissa tapped the hilt of her blade once and motioned Sephiroth to mimic the same movements as her. She tapped it a second time like an inevitable countdown while she drew the blade back further behind her ear since it was so long. Sephiroth was the one who tapped his blade the third time to release their attack to pierce the heart.

The swords flew true from their hands and before they hit their mark Cloud cried out, "Larissa!! NO!!"


	29. Freedom

Cloud fell to his knees as he witnessed the most shocking event in his life. The swords that flew from Larissa's and Sephiroth's hand sliced right through their hearts to where the swords were sticking out of their backs. Both cried out in agony that overwhelmed Vincent to fall to the ground beside Cloud with his hands holding his head, for the impact turned him back to his former self. Everyone else gasped in horror at the scene that no one expected to happen. Tifa and Yuffie were the only ones who screamed.

They both fell to the earth in puddles of their own liquid as the swords remained in their bodies. The Spirit World was appalled by the whole show that Aeris, Zack, and Lucrecia began to cry. Angeal had to look away while Genesis whispered, _"That's my girl." _

Down below, the barrier began to dissolve into the blood stained air to allow Avalanche and the Turks to enter the gruesome mini battlefield. While they ran in to help Larissa, Sephiroth began to crawl toward her with all of his strength. He reached her side and grasped her hand to feel her warmth fleeing rapidly. Taking his hand in hers with a weakening force, Larissa gazed in his pale green eyes to see tears overflowing like a fountain.

Coughing up some of her own blood while crying she says to him, "It is finally done Sephiroth. We are free."

Through his crying he says to her, "Yes, we are free to roam as ourselves, but why does it have to be so painful. Here let me remove my sword from your perfect body."

He took his fading fingertips and slowly pulled the weapon out of her chest to lie upon the blood-stained ground. After Sephiroth was done, Larissa did the same for him, so they could both lay in what comfort was there. When the swords were removed they laid in each other's arms while bleeding out all that was left of their existence.

Cloud ran up to them, but was blocked once again by a barrier that Sephiroth created to keep them out. "I know I have been cruel to you too Cloud, but I must have this one last moment of happiness before I leave this earth forever. Larissa is the only person I truly had besides Genesis and Angeal who died way before their time. Please let me have it," says Sephiroth as he puts his hand underneath Larissa's chin to lift her face up to his.

Without hesitation, Sephiroth gave Larissa a breathtaking kiss of farewell that made Cloud want to scream as much as Vincent. Even Tseng cringed when he saw the sight before him. When the kiss was broken, something about them both began to change.

It was like the kiss gave them new life, for within their distorted bodies came a blinding light. It took the gang a few seconds to realize that the light was their souls being released from their prison. Sephiroth's came out first, revealing a striking handsome man with long dark brown hair and the same pale green eyes of his supposed youth.

As it rose out of his evaporating corpse, soft white chains came out from the ground to wrap themselves around his soul for closure. The soul did not even stir or thrash against them as everyone thought it would. His eyes remained open to the public as the Heavens took him away to Purgatory or possibly Limbo where Angeal and Genesis used to be. Because of Genesis's devotion to the Wise Men, he has been offered to work beside them with Angeal to organize the place up a bit.

When Sephiroth left, Cloud came to Larissa's side and took her hand to feel her life slowly slipping away. "Larissa, stay with me! I know you will be able to survive this event like all the others. Just hang on for me," he cried.

Tseng knelt beside Cloud to see what he could do, but found nothing that would improve her status. Vincent took her other hand and helped her up to a sitting position, so she could speak properly to them all. "Cloud, this is the end and I am positive about it this time. The Planet no longer needs me," she said feebly.

"That's not true at all," says Maddox. "The Planet might not need you, but we do."

"Yeah Maddox is right," says Marlene. "We want you to stay with us Miss Larissa," replies Denzel.

"Oh children I wish I could, but I am glad things turned out the way it did. My freedom is all I have been working toward since I came to this new world of yours. And now it is mine for the taking."

Larissa coughed up more of her blood that was still leaking out of her back and her chest. Vincent held her dying hand to his lips at this moment and whispered, "If you must go, then go Larissa. But always remember me, the monster who loved you more than his own life."

Turning her head with every effort she could muster she replies, "I will always remember the man who helped me live a life with a purpose. Never say you are a monster, for I see a hurting man in my presence."

Actual tears streamed down Vincent's face as he kissed her hand harder than he meant to, leaving a small red mark where his mouth had been. The three children all cried their mini river of grief while holding each other for comfort. Vincent rose from his seat by Larissa and gave Tseng room to talk to her next.

"Larissa," he says gently to a loved one, "I wish that you never did have to go through all of this chaos with Shinra Inc. If I had known it would pain me this much I would have rescued you sooner from their clutches. I am sorry I was not there all the time for you; please tell me that I am forgiven."

"Tseng, you carry so many burdens that are not even yours to bear. All is forgiven if that will help you sleep better at night. Now promise me that you will take some time off and find some happiness. Will you do that for me?"

"Yes," he whispers back with tears overflowing from his eyes as well, "I will try to find some happiness, even though yours was the greatest gift of all." Tseng bent down to kiss her cold lips softly before rising up to let someone else have a turn.

Cid decided to go next and knelt down, so Larissa would not have to strain. "Um Larissa, I just want to thank you for what you have done for us and the Planet. I know we would not have been able to hold back another attack without your help. Even though I did hit on you from time to time for fun, I did that out of the kindness of my heart. I love ya kid and that will… will never change," he choked off before giving her a sweet goodbye kiss on the cheek.

Barret came up next to give her a kiss on the other cheek and said, "Through all the shit we've done together I have to honestly say you are a wonderful woman. To be able to endure the changes you've made over this past year is amazing. I will always admire your courage and determination to help the Planet. I care for ya too and if I could do anything about this damn disaster I would."

Larissa patted his real hand to show that she understood and took his words at heart, which made Barret cry even harder as he rose from the ground to join the rest of the group. Tifa came after Barret and told Maverick to stay put for the time being.

Crying her eyes out Tifa says, "I am so sorry for having that outburst with you. I should have known that you have lost way more than we have over the past few years. Please say you forgive me too! I do not want us to end this way and I think we would have been good friends if not under these circumstances."

"You're right Tifa; we would have been great friends. That little argument has been behind me for some time. I would never hold anything against you unless it was necessary. All I can say is have a joyful life," says Larissa softly.

Yuffie ran up next after Tifa, but she only hugged and kissed Larissa on both cheeks for she was too emotional to do or say anything else. Reeves did the same thing along with Cait Sith. Even Nanaki was speechless when his turn came. Shelke replaced Nanaki and said to Larissa, "Larissa you have taught me hope is possible even in our darkest hour. I have never witnessed anyone to survive through so much as you have. I know that you are not completely human, but your spirit is what shines out from the rest. All the moments we have shared together I will cherish. Goodbye Larissa."

Shelke went over to Nanaki and they cried together on each other's shoulders. Rufus came after her and stooped down like a father to a little toddler. He took her hand and said, "Larissa I know we have not been on the best of terms, but I like to consider us as friends in our own way. Please take care in the Afterlife and be happy." He also kissed her stiffening lips as he diligently walked away.

After everyone else had gone to say their goodbyes only Cloud was left, who stayed by her the whole entire time. Holding back his rain of tears he takes Larissa in his arms and says, "I am sure by now you know how I feel about you. And I will say it in front of everyone present that I love you Larissa. Because of you I am a stronger and better man than I used to be. You have reminded me that joy does exist even in the smallest places. The warm tenderness and beauty of you will never be lost in my memory. But there has to be a way to make you stay."

More of her spoiled blood came out of her mouth as she said, "I hope that you will not hang on to lost dreams such as Zack, oh how he loved to do that. All of you are forgetting that I will always be around as long as you keep me inside your hearts and minds. That should help aid the pain you are all feeling at this moment. I have never been this close to any other human before and am glad I have experienced what you all had to offer. Please live a life full of peace and prosperity. I…I love you all so much."

She staggered off as actual tears began to stream down her own fading face. Through her crying she whispered for Cloud's ears only, "I love you too Cloud."

When he heard Larissa say those last dying words he began to cry even harder. Trying to dry his own eyes again, Cloud bent down and gave her a kiss that transferred all that he felt to her very soul.

The emotional status of the kiss seemed to awaken the rest of Larissa's spirit, for her own shining light started to illuminate from her evaporating body too. Cloud laid the body down carefully as her soul came floating out in the form of her true self. Everyone gathered around to see and was astonished by the site.

The true nature of Larissa was a gorgeous woman of about 25 years with the same outfit of crystal mail, gloves, and boots over her royal blue attire. The crystal inlayed belt glowed brilliantly against the shining light coming through the trees that decorated her firm waistline. All the men were in complete awe at her real appearance while the women stared in silence.

As her old body dissolved into the earth, Larissa's soul floated to the ground with her clear gray eyes staring out at them. Cloud decided to come forward to see if he could reach out to her, but a sweet woman's voice called out, "Do not touch my daughter."

He immediately froze in his spot as an angelic woman appeared out from the trees with a cream colored robe that showed off her figure very nicely. The woman's hair from what they could tell was the same honey brown as Larissa's only her eyes were blue instead of gray.

She came forward with her arms opened wide as she knelt down to Larissa and said, "I have waited so many years for my daughter to be free, it has been extremely stressful and of course painful. Oh how we have missed her so much at home."

"Excuse me miss, but I hope you do not mind me asking you this question. Who are you?" asks Cloud.

Picking Larissa up from the ground she says to them, "If you must know I am Larissa's true mother, here to take her back home where she belongs. She should not have gone off with her so called fiancé Avian to this place. A New World indeed, just look at it. If this is what is available to us, then I am glad we have made a world all our own. I wish the Ancients would have done the same. It is a pity that the last one was sacrificed for this planet just like my daughter was."

"What do you mean a world of your own? Where are you from?" asks Nanaki out of curiosity.

Breathing out a sigh the woman says, "We are part of the Cetra race, which I am sure you have heard of before. The Ancients are on one side and the Castus are on the other. We are the Castus or the Pure Ones if you will. Our people feared that because of our power and just the race itself would cause disturbances, especially in the science field as you have witnessed also. So in order to protect ourselves from such misery, we made a world that is just the Castus race only and you have to fly on a spaceship in order to reach it."

"Another perfect race besides the Ancients that sounds impossible!" exclaims Rufus from beside Reeves.

"Well it does exist; my daughter is living proof of it. I cannot wait to restore her to her rightful place. I am sure she will love to be back in her own body for a change."

"Wait, but we have a body for her right here," says Shelke.

"What, that pathetic human one inside that green tank? I disposed of it a while back; she will enter the body that she was born with."

"So she will live?" asks Cloud anxiously.

"Now that is something I do not know or have control over. That is up to the Gods to decide if she should be revived or not. But if she should die I want her to rest where she belongs, which is with me and her people."

Larissa's mother wrapped her daughter tightly in her arms and held her with a tender touch that only a loving mother could give to their offspring. "Well can we at least know your name before you leave?" asks Nanaki.

"Sure I do not see the harm in that. My name is Olivia," she says proudly. "Now I think you have all said your goodbyes to my daughter Larissa. We are heading home now; farewell and I have to say that it was nice talking to you all. And thank you for taking care of her, it means everything to me."

Olivia did not wait for the gang to protest, for she carried Larissa off in her arms to the center of the pool and faded into the portal that opened up for them. Cloud and Vincent tried to stop her from leaving so soon, but they did not have any idea how to do that in the first place.

When Larissa and Olivia were gone something started to erupt from the earth. It looked like the Lifestream sprouting from the ground to heal the Planet once and for all. All of their surroundings became brighter in color and the air, all of a sudden purified itself.

"I guess we better head back to Midgar," says Rufus hollowly. Everyone else nodded in agreement as they walked in a dream like state back to the airship. Cloud still remained by the pool where Larissa and Sephiroth once stood just a few seconds before everything happened. It seemed like a lie to him until he saw her blood decorating the brown polished soil.

Cloud crouched down to touch it and felt a violent surge of anger and anguish flowing throughout his veins. It became so intense that he yelled, "Why can't I keep just one person in my life? Why do they have to die right in front of my eyes?! Have I done something so diabolical that I should be punished in this manner? Someone please answer me, I can't stand this pain that tears at my already bleeding heart!"

"_Cloud we all feel your pain,"_ came Aeris voice from above. _"I wish we could give you answers to your questions. All I can say is that this will all be healed over time. If you do miss Larissa just as much as we do up here, then you should go to the church. Her flowers are still growing there. Maybe that can comfort you and the rest of the gang in your time of need." _

When Cloud heard Aeris's suggestion he automatically rose to his feet with new inspiration. "Wow I never thought of that, thanks Aeris. Come on everyone back to Midgar," he said while running toward the airship as fast as he could.

They all made it back to Midgar in record timing as Cloud with Vincent led the way to the church. Once they entered the sacred realm they noticed that the yellow flowers of Aeris's were still glowing brightly with Larissa's white ones. Cloud collapsed onto the floor out of pure exhaustion and took in the fresh scent of Larissa's flowers with a relieved smile on his face.

"I can still sense her presence from her flowers that she has left behind for us. Vincent, can you feel it too?" asks Cloud in a daze.

Vincent sat down beside them and smiled too for he said, "You are right Cloud, I can feel Larissa. In fact I can feel her all around me in this very church."

All of Avalanche came to see the flowers and also felt relieved that Larissa had not completely disappeared from their lives.

"I guess we will be able to survive this crisis after all, eh Vincent?" says Cloud.

"Yeah I think we will be just fine," he replies back.

All the children began to run around the church in pure joy of the growing garden while Cloud peered at the back of the church and saw Larissa standing there in her true form smiling happily at them. Cloud nudged Vincent and he too saw her beautiful face in all its glory shining brightly at them all.

Before leaving them behind, Larissa blows Cloud and Vincent both a kiss while turning away toward the light back to her own world where she belongs.

**THE END**

**Well this is the end of my first fan fiction and I just want to thank everyone who has enjoyed it as much as I had writing it. If anyone would like to have a sequel where Larissa could come back you can leave a review as a request to do so, otherwise it will remain as it is now. I hope you will all leave a review anyway to tell me how I did and maybe I will write something else on a different subject very soon. Again Thank You. ) **


End file.
